(Bloomberg) — A hacker released authentic pre-release footage from the development of Grand Theft Auto VI, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.’s most anticipated video game.
The video cache offers an extensive, unauthorized look into the making of one of the biggest games in the industry. A leak of this scale is so rare that some people question its authenticity, but people familiar with the game’s development said the videos are real. The images offer an early, unpolished look at plans for Grand Theft Auto VI, though the final version will look much more refined, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private.
The hacker posted dozens of never-before-seen Grand Theft Auto VI videos to an online message board over the weekend. In the forum, the person suggested that they were the same hacker who infiltrated Uber Technologies Inc. in a high-profile incident last week. The claim is not verified. The hacker indicated in a follow-up message about the upcoming Grand Theft Auto game, “I’m looking to negotiate a deal,” and raised the possibility of releasing more inside information about the project.
A Take-Two spokesman did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.
The last Grand Theft Auto came out in 2013 and became the most valuable entertainment property, based on the sustained popularity of its companion online game. The upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI has been in development in some form since 2014, Bloomberg has reported. It will feature a playable female protagonist for the first time in the series and will be set mostly in a fictional version of Miami, Bloomberg reported. Take-Two first acknowledged the game’s existence in February, a disclosure that quickly sent its shares up 7%.
Employees at Rockstar Games, the Take-Two studio that makes Grand Theft Auto, were surprised by the leak, people familiar with the project said. Many were struggling with the implications of the event and how management would respond.
In July, video game maker Roblox Corp. accused a hacker of posting stolen information in an attempt to extort the business. Neil Druckmann, co-chairman of Sony Group Corp.’s Naughty Dog. which dealt with pre-launch information about its game The Last of Us II, posted a message on Twitter on Sunday to reassure “my fellow developers affected by the latest news”. escape.”
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