What just happened? The infamous hack on Rockstar Games last year is still haunting the company. According to reports, files originating from that original incident, including GTA V source code and details of games such as GTA VI and Bully 2, have leaked online.
The full extent of the leak is not yet known, with several X users posting screenshots and claims. It's believed that a link to a 4GB file containing GTA V code was posted, but it's unclear if a complete version of the game's entire source code, rumored to be around 200GB in size, has also been made available online. Some say it has, while others say the smaller file, which includes an early map of San Andreas, is the extent of the leaked code.
UPDATE: The source code is currently circulating in various group chats, despite efforts to privatize it again https://t.co/gmHBd32zxd pic.twitter.com/kyM2kK52mR
– GTA Focal (@GTAFocal) December 25, 2023
The files also reveal some of the content that never made it into GTA V. One of the few criticisms aimed at the second-best-selling game of all time has been its lack of single-player DLC like the excellent The Lost and the Damned from GTA IV. But it appears that there were plans for similar expansions in GTA V, including ones set in North Yankton and Liberty City, as well as a GTA V Trevor expansion, which we saw in the previous leak. Some of the canceled single-player DLC made it into GTA Online.
Hearing the news that Rockstar cancelled 8 story mode DLC's for GTA 5 is incredibly disappointing.
– GameRoll (@GameRollGTA) December 25, 2023
I understand why, it was simply more profitable to allocate further resources onto GTAO instead of developing singleplayer content which would have generated minimal revenue in… pic.twitter.com/5b1MmZJqSz
GTA Focal writes that the files were leaked publicly via a Discord message that contained a link to download the GTA V source code. The link was quickly removed, but it has been shared in other group chats using a Tor download link.
In addition to GTA V source code, it's claimed that every one of Rockstar's files relating to Bully 2, the unreleased sequel to the 2008 game Bully, has leaked. There are also sections of code from the upcoming GTA VI that confirm the game was at one point codenamed "Project Americas."
The leaked information stems from the hack on Rockstar Games carried out by 18-year-old Lapsus$ member Arion Kurtaj and a younger teenager last year. Kurtaj initiated the attack while on bail for hacking Nvidia and British telecom provider BT/EE. Despite staying in a hotel under police protection and having his laptop confiscated, Kurtaj was able to hack Rockstar using the room's included Amazon Fire Stick and a newly purchased phone, keyboard, and mouse.
Kurtaj is believed to have kept the majority of the GTA V source code private, selling it to people who would benefit most, with prices rumored to reach $50,000. The hacker was recently sentenced to life in a secure hospital facility.