Rockstar Games had to deal with a big leak of their upcoming GTA 6 title. It was something they’d never faced before, but the leak wasn’t their only issue. The leaker also threatened all Rockstar Games employees.
The 2013-released GTA V is possibly the best installment in the Grand Theft Auto franchise by Rockstar Games. After all, this game entertained the fans for over a decade with exciting content. But eventually, fans grew bored of it and sought a new installment.
The developers listened to their fans and announced working on GTA 6. But Fans grew anxious because of no updates about the development. There was a major leak last year, revealing significant information about it. But no one knew that the leaker blackmailed the developers with those leaks.
GTA 6 leaker blackmailed Rockstar Games on Slack
Last year, an 18-year-old hacker named Arion Kurtaj hacked Rockstar Games and leaked footage of their upcoming GTA 6’s gameplay. He was eventually caught red-handed by the UK police. They later discovered he was part of an infamous hacker group, Lapsus$.
According to BBC, the young hacker had a history of hacking into organizations and blackmailing them. He did the same with the developers of GTA 6. The 18-year-old joined Rockstar Games’ Slack and threatened them to meet his demands or leak more GTA 6 content.
“I am not a Rockstar employee, I am an attacker. If Rockstar does not contact me on Telegram within 24 hours I will start releasing the source code.”
Before leaking GTA 6, Kurtaj had been involved in other cyber crimes. He and his fellow 17-year-old accomplice previously also stole SIM card details. They later used them to steal over £100,000 from their cryptocurrency accounts.
The hacker leaked GTA 6 from a hotel
Kurtaj was staying in a hotel when he hacked Rockstar Games, as his rivals were doxxing him. Additionally, he was supposed to live there without any access to the internet. Because of his history with hacking, he was already arrested and out on bail with some conditions to meet.
GTA 6 gameplay leak. Seems very VERY legit. #GTA6 #gta6leaked #GTAOnline pic.twitter.com/lxiLBcUbkV
— Afridi Siddiqui (@AfridiS55290983) September 18, 2022
But he had an Amazon Fire Stick, mouse, keyboard, and new smartphone in the hotel room. The 18-year-old connected them to the room’ TV to leak the GTA 6 footage and blackmail the developers. So, the court found him guilty and will later announce his punishment.
Rockstar Games are currently busy working on the new GTA 6 title. They are keeping it very close to their heart. However, new leaks appear on the internet from time to time. You can click here to learn about the leak suggesting Bully 2 will be released after GTA 6.
