Rockstar suffered an unprecedented leak last weekend. Ninety videos of his in-development Grand Theft Auto 6 gameplay have surfaced online. [Rockstar’s] system,” the company said.
Leaks are already ranked as one of the most important in gaming history for several reasons, but the main reason is the value of the target project. Grand Theft Auto 6 is the sequel to the most profitable entertainment release of all time. For many, this leak is a fun and unexpected peek at one of his most anticipated video games ever. But for Rockstar, Take-Two, and their investors, the hack and subsequent leaks are an unexpected and costly roadblock that could threaten development plans for a multi-billion dollar product.
The leak had an immediate impact on publisher Take-Two. Take-Two’s stock price plummeted by as much as 6% after the leak, but the lasting effects won’t be apparent for some time. Rockstar has said that development will “continue as planned,” but only time will tell how the impact on team morale and development practices will ultimately affect GTA 6.
Following the Rockstar hack, we’ve put together a list of five other big leaks that happened as a result of third-party intrusions (hacks, thefts, etc.). It doesn’t include less egregious leaks like Walmart Canada’s E3 2018 explosion and GeoForce Now’s datamine. (A list of such leaks has been compiled on our website The most infamous leak in video game history Talk. )
Half-Life 2 source code
In September 2003, the source code for Half-Life 2, one of the most anticipated upcoming games at the time, was stolen from Valve’s internal network. A hacker, a German man named Axel Gembe, allegedly shared the code with another individual, who uploaded it online. Arstecnica.
Unlike other hackers on this list, Gembe claims his motives are not financial. Rather, he was a Half-Life fan interested in how the sequel progressed. Despite his intentions, the action was criminal and Gembe was arrested after he fell for a sophisticated agitation organized by the FBI and Valve. After Valve’s he confessed his crimes to Gabe Newell, Gembe sent a follow-up email asking for a job. Valve and his FBI used the opportunity to set a trap and persuade Gembe to elaborate on his crimes during an “interview.”
Gembe eventually pleaded guilty to his crimes in court and was sentenced to two years’ probation. Half-Life 2 was released in his late 2004 to critical and commercial success. It may have worked out for Valve, but according to Gembe’s recollections of the events, German police said he was responsible for “over $250 million in damages.”
The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 source code
In February 2021, CD Projekt fell victim to a ransomware attack. Hackers accessed the company’s internal servers and reportedly obtained source code for The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Gwent, and “an unreleased version of The Witcher 3,” in addition to accounting and administrative documents.
CD Projekt shared ransom note twitter, the company said it had been given 48 hours to respond to protect the data.according to game industrythe hackers auctioned off the material, with a starting price of $1 million and an immediate purchase price of $7 million, but eventually accepted an outside offer for an undisclosed amount.
In June 2021, CD Projekt admitted that stolen data was being circulated online, stating that it “contains details of current/former employees and contractors in addition to data related to our games. There may be,” he added. [sic] CD Projekt said at the time that it was cooperating with multiple law enforcement agencies, but there has been no public update on the investigation for more than a year.
Capcom’s upcoming games
In November 2020, Capcom was hit by a ransomware attack that resulted in the destruction and encryption of data on Capcom’s servers, after which a provisional release schedule until March 31, 2025 was published. Among the leaked games were Street Fighter 6 and Dragon’s Dogma 2. , and Resident Evil 4 Remake — all confirmed.
Capcom confirmed that the hackers left a ransom note, but “the ransom amount was not mentioned”.The company said it “did not take any steps” to contact the hackers. (report from . beeping computer (via VGC) claims that the hacking group stole 1 TB worth of data and demanded a ransom of $11 million in Bitcoin. )
Capcom said it is cooperating with law enforcement agencies in Japan and the United States.These investigations are not yet finished, but Capcom completed its own internal investigation in April 2021. VGCThe study found that over 15,000 accounts were definitely compromised, but the hack may have affected up to 390,000 people.
In addition to the immeasurable damage to security costs and future projects, Capcom became the target of an unexpected lawsuit following the hack.according to BBCphotographer Judy Juracek has filed a lawsuit against Capcom alleging copyright infringement after “at least one” of her artwork appeared in leaked Capcom files. He sought $12 million in damages, but said the case was “settled amicably” out of court. polygon.
Nintendo “Gigaleak”
In 2020, Nintendo was reportedly the victim of a massive hack that resulted in the theft of over 2 TB of data. Commonly known as the “Nintendo Gigaleak,” the leak contained information about canceled games, prototypes, source code, development tools, internal communications, and more. This is a leak unlike any other, featuring a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at Nintendo’s secret development process.
The leaked material spans from the SNES to the 3DS era. Among the most notable discoveries were source code related to Luigi’s character model from Super Mario 64, a canceled Pokémon MMO, Yoshi’s Island prototypes, Nintendo 64, GameCube, and Wii consoles.
Considering this leak relates to Nintendo’s legacy catalog and consoles rather than current or upcoming releases, it’s difficult to gauge the impact on Nintendo. call for investorsNintendo seems to have confirmed that the leak led to increased security measures, but that definitely came at a cost.
Frostbite engine and FIFA 21 source code
In June 2021, hackers broke into EA’s systems and reportedly stole 780 GB of data, including source code for both FIFA 21 and DICE’s Frostbite Engine.As reported by Visethe hackers bought stolen cookies for $10 and got access to EA’s network after entering an EA channel on work messenger Slack. I lost my phone,” he said, from which he messaged IT support claiming he needed a new multi-factor authentication token.
follow-up from Visedetails how hackers began leaking stolen source code online after failing to extort EA. Frostbite’s source code is a particularly unique asset that EA has good reason to keep secret. This is invaluable both as a blueprint for competitor game engine creators and as a resource for cheat makers (especially those who create cheats for his Frostbite-made Battlefield online shooter).
What do you think is the biggest theft or hack of the last few years? Discuss it in the comments.
