GTA 5’s Source Code Allegedly Published Online, Likely A Protest Against Hacker’s Sentence

GTA 5’s Source Code Allegedly Published Online, Likely A Protest Against Hacker’s Sentence

Looks like the nightmares over at Rockstar Games are still not over yet – after being hit with leaks of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI title, the coveted game studio now must face another problem: GTA 5’s source code is getting published on the web.

To understand the severity of the issue, source code is often not publicized for many reasons. Aside from being an intellectual property (IP) – in the context of games, leakage of source code could mean the game can now be easily reversed-engineered, and thus be used to develop cheating tools. Given how dependent the company is on GTA Online’s revenue, this is terrible news.

The code was first shared via the secure messaging app, Telegram, which is owned by a member of the Lapsus$ hacking group that goes by the alias of ‘Phil’. In case you missed it, one of the group’s hackers, Arion Kurtaj, was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order on the grounds that he may continue to be a danger to the public, after he expressed his intention to continue his crimes once released.

Amongst all the files leaked, it’s not just GTA 5 – there are also traces of unreleased games including Bully 2 and Midnight Club 5, as well as an early version of GTA 5’s map. The data also includes the company email addresses of Rockstar’s employees. It is believed that these are part of the data that was stolen one year ago, when GTA 6 was leaked. Going by the message written in the Telegram group, the data is likely publicized as a protest to his fellow partner-in-crime’s detention.

#FreeArionKurtaj

He started all of this and ensured the leak would become public.

I have immense respect for him. 

Miss you buddy.

If you want to take a trip down memory lane, check out the list of pinned messages to see how it all unfolded in 2022. Arion actively talked in here.

– ‘Phil’ of Lapsus$ hacking group

Lapsus$ was also responsible for various high-profile attacks, involving companies such as NVIDIA, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Samsung, Uber, BT, EE, and others.

Source: Tom’s Hardware

Pokdepinion: That’s not great news for Rockstar at all.