Grand Theft Auto 6: Comment: A hack that does not help any player

It was the game story of the month, maybe even the whole year: almost a hundred clips from an early game version of GTA 6 were published by a hacker. A lot of things still look quite unfinished, of course, but some things are also quite final. Overlays of development tools and test environments are also often visible. One thing is clear: this was definitely not intended for the public. Especially not with a Rockstar game – after all, the developer is known for only showing something when there is really something to show. And otherwise only communicate publicly in exceptional cases.

But if it were just a shattered PR strategy by Take 2, such a leak would probably be easy for players to get over. And for developers and publishers, too, the damage would ultimately be limited. Of course, it’s bitter not being able to present the results of your work to the public as you intended. One of the most successful media products ever, GTA 6 will probably be one way or another, no matter what, where and how it was published beforehand.

A suspected phishing attack

The problem is: The material for GTA 6 is not simply leaked. It’s not just a short clip, blurry image, or story twist pre-released here. It’s not a PR-boosting leak that finally reveals glossy footage from one of the most anticipated video games of all time. What happened over the weekend and presumably in the days and weeks before borders on industrial espionage. This incident, should the extent of the hack be confirmed, could have a major impact on everything related to GTA 6.

But what exactly happened? Rockstar has apparently fallen victim to a phishing attack that gave hackers illegal access to company secrets. Despite all security checks, VPNs and other measures, these “social engineering” attacks are extremely difficult to prevent, since the human factor and its gullibility play a relevant role here. According to his own statements, which are difficult to verify, the hacker had access to internal Rockstar servers and the company’s internal chat communications. Not only the 90 or so videos that have been circulating on the Internet since Sunday have gone missing. According to the hacker’s statements, the GTA 5 source code and parts of the GTA 6 source code have also fallen into the hands of third parties. A meltdown in software development and a massive security problem for the entire project.

GTA 6 on the brink?

So far, so problematic. But seriously, why should we as gamers care about the incomplete security infrastructure of game studios? OK, then Rockstar just had bad luck. It’s going to be expensive and annoying – but in the end, Take 2 has turned over $6.8 billion in almost a decade of GTA 5. Bankruptcy is hardly an issue here.

First problem: Depending on the extent of the lost source code, the entire Grand Theft Auto 6 project could be on the brink. Yes, that sounds overly dramatic at first and is probably not very likely. Nevertheless, the loss of source code is a massive problem for developers – especially before a product is released. After all, third parties can potentially gain access to the holy of holies of a program. That means: Security gaps become clear, back doors are open and all forms of influencing the game can be made. And that doesn’t just apply to cheats, etc., but can also lead to highly problematic security leaks if personal and, above all, payment data are linked. That means a lot of code has to be rewritten.

Depending on the extent of the leak, this can mean a massive amount of work. After all, it can be assumed that GTA 6 has been in full production for years. Depending on how expensive these changes become, the cost and benefit may be out of proportion. Yes, that’s very, very unlikely in a game as big as GTA. But the Half-Life 2 source code hack remains unforgotten, which caused even greater problems for the game’s development, which was already problematic at the time – and the project was said to be on the verge of being discontinued. Even if a cancellation or a complete development restart of GTA 6 is very unlikely: That would really not help anyone.

Additional Delays

Second: GTA 6 will be released later than it already is. It is to be expected that the Rockstar blockbuster will no longer be able to meet internal deadlines. Even if the theft of the source code turns out to be relatively unproblematic, this hack will not remain without internal consequences. Regardless of whether teams are dissolved, restructured or completely reorganized. It doesn’t matter whether completely new communication channels have to be created between the geographically widely dispersed Rockstar studios and whether mobile office solutions have to be changed or eliminated altogether: it will probably not be possible to work normally in the Rockstar offices for weeks. And that means that GTA 6 is not being developed either.

And as we know from large projects, even small delays can have gigantic effects. Because along the way, thousands of lines of code may have to be changed, new software solutions found or certain components started from scratch. The result: delays, delays, delays. So if you can’t wait for GTA 5 after almost 10 years, you should think about Cartman’s solution of being frozen until the release. Nobody knows when exactly a release of GTA 6 was planned – but at least one year more development time should not be completely out of thin air. So before 2025, things could get tight with a Grand Theft Auto sequel. And let’s be honest: That’s not at all what every player looking forward to the next GTA wants.

Gamers don’t know how game development works

In addition, the majority of gamers are hopelessly overwhelmed with unfiltered insights into the development process of their favorite games. Hardly anyone outside of the developer bubble knows exactly how games are actually developed – and early builds of blockbusters are sometimes reminiscent of scruffy rehearsal room demos, which very few bands sound exactly like the finished product. Immediately after the leak, the first criticism of the look and technology of the scenes was voiced without there being any knowledge of the development status of the game version. This is somewhat reminiscent of the The Last of Us Part 2 incident that led to a pre-condemnation of the game, from which the franchise has yet to recover in the comment columns. With all the economic success that Naughty Dog was able to achieve with their game. Sure: Rockstar is notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to communicating with fans, which rightly annoys many fans when it comes to announcements, online updates or patches. Still, there’s a reason why trailers are so important.

Sure: On a professional level, incidents of this kind are really valuable for us games journalists – because we too rarely get concrete insights into the development of such big games. Nevertheless, I personally much prefer the leak of a store page, the guesswork with anonymous confirmation or the blurred screenshot. Because then I know that the blockbuster, which I’ve also been eagerly awaiting, will appear more or less according to plan.