Grand Theft Auto VI footage leaks online, developer Rockstar confirms

Picture Courtesy: Getty Images

On Sunday, more than 90 videos and images from the next edition of the Grant Theft Auto franchise were leaked online by a hacker. The news was confirmed by the game’s developer Rockstar Games.

Rockstar Games said it remained unclear how the "network intrusion" occurred, but confirmed "early development footage" from GTA VI had been stolen. This is said to be biggest security breach in gaming industry.

The footage was put on the GTAForums site by a user called teapotuberhacker. The hacker is said to have gained access to the content by breaching Rockstar's internal feed on the Slack messaging app.

Although the original post was deleted by the moderators, the content is now widely shared on social media platforms. Rockstar has reportedly issued takedown orders to remove the footage from YouTube and Twitter.

The leaked content shows animation tests. level layouts and some gameplay demonstrations, and it appeared to confirm a long-running rumour that the game will feature the series' first playable female protagonist.

In a statement on Monday, the company said it was "extremely disappointed to have any details of our next game shared with you all in this way. Our work on the next Grand Theft Auto game will continue as planned and we remain as committed as ever to delivering an experience to you, our players, that truly exceeds your expectations”.