Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 5's source code was purportedly leaked on Christmas Eve and has quickly spread through multiple Discord channels and dark websites. The code was first shared via Telegram on a GTA leak channel owned by 'Phil' from Lapsus$. Within the GTA 5 source files haul there were also Bully 2 files, information about Midnight Club 5, an early GTA 5 map, and a Python script - all thought to have been stolen a year ago. The leak also includes the company email addresses of multiple Rockstar employees. Screenshots of the leak were provided with the original files.
'Phil' makes his leaking of the files sound like a form of a protest against Rockstar's actions against Arion Kurtaj who leaked GTA 6 pre-release trailers, prompting a case to be filed where a UK judge sentenced him to a hospital indefinitely. He wrote in the Telegram group:
"#FreeArionKurtaj
He started all of this and ensured the leak would become public.
I have immense respect for him.
Miss you buddy.
If you want to take a trip down memory lane, check out the list of pinned messages to see how it all unfolded in 2022. Arion actively talked in here."
Arion Kurtaj is one of the members of the South America-based Lapsus$ group responsible for multiple hack attacks against other companies.
Lapsus$ Group's Notorious History of Attacks and Leaks
Lapsus$ has previously attacked many substantial businesses such as Uber, Microsoft, Nvidia, Ubisoft, Samsung, and several others. The group attacked Samsung in 2022, with proprietary code from the Korean tech giant released by the group. A few days before the Samsung hack, the group threatened Nvidia requesting the firm neuter its LHR technology. The Department of Homeland Security has the group under observation to study their methods and devise recommendations against such attacks in the future.
That Lapsus$ gained access to the source code of a popular game like GTA 5, and pre-release videos from the highly anticipated GTA 6, is a worrying development in the industry. One of the results of such leaked source code may be the creation of sophisticated cheat programs. Due to the nature of these leaks, this will be a developing story. Rockstar Games hasn't discussed this leak at the time of writing.
