Another blow to Rockstar Games after GTA V source code leaked

The source code of Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V), an immensely popular and widely acclaimed video game, was leaked on Christmas Eve. The material circulating online includes scrapped DLCs and some code from the upcoming sequel, GTA VI.

The link to the leaked GTA V source code was shared on the Telegram channel moderated by user Phil337, who claimed he is “only responsible for obtaining the source code and creating Tor download link.” The moderator said the source code was being sold by the leaker and also warned that many scams are currently circulating online.

“The full source hasn't been released as far as we know,” the moderator said. “To be clear, I strongly advise you all not to purchase anything unless you don't care about being scammed. I am not aware of anyone possessing this file and do not condone any sales. If these files exist and are being sold, they will come out and I will share them for free.”

According to rockstarintel.com, the leaked code contains some files from the upcoming sequel GTA VI and more. There were rumors that files were leaked on an Xbox 360 modding discord server by the individual whom Rockstar had sued in the past.

Rockstar uses the proprietary RAGE engine for its games, and the leaked material allegedly contains early scenes and assets of various games and DLCs, as well as internal emails discussing the game’s development.

“Confidential data from GTA has surfaced on a Tor website. A dedicated Telegram page, “GTA V Leaks,” has been set up to distribute this information. Currently, the group is sharing only onion links,” cybersecurity analyst FalconFeeds.io confirmed on X.

Researchers from vx-underground claimed to have spoken with “the person responsible for the GTA V source code leak,” and they claim “to have received the source code in August 2023.”

“Their motivation was to combat scamming in the GTA V modding scene, many people were allegedly scammed by people claiming to have the GTA V source code,” the vx-underground post reads.

In September 2022, multiple development videos of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI video game were leaked online. Later, a London Jury found teenagers from the hacking group Lapsus$ guilty of hacking Rockstar Games, among other companies. In a Slack message sent to all Rockstar staff, they threatened to release the source code for the planned GTA VI sequel.

An 18-year-old gang member, Arion Kurtaj, was given an “indefinite hospital order” this month.

The owner of the leak channel on Telegram claimed that Rockstar has started taking down the links to stolen material.

“Too little, too late,” they added and expressed respect to Kurtaj, who “started all of this and ensured the leak would become public.”

The leak suggests that GTA V had eight single-player DLCs in development that were scrapped later, insider-gaming.com found.