After days of speculation, Insider Gaming’s sources indicate that GTA 5’s source code has “almost certainly” been stolen. Last last week, over 90 gameplay videos leaked online, in addition to images and code.
Claims for the hacker and subsequent impersonates have implied that both GTA 5 and GTA 6 source code was stolen during the Rockstar Games hack. So far, Insider Gaming has only been able to see evidence that the GTA 5 source code, or at least significant parts of it, was compromised.
Parts of the original source code files were originally leaked during the initial dump, but other files, that appear to have been sent privately show that the hacker had more.
As we’ve seen in the past few days, the situation is complex, and verifying claims is difficult. Almost every day a new account appears to claim it is the original hacker, however, these files originated from the original account on the day of the leaks.
In private conversations, several developers, modders, and even hackers have said that if the files are legitimate, they could pose a threat. With one person saying that there’s a “reasonable degree of certainty” that the claims are real. It’s only Rockstar Games and Take-Two that can verify if the files are legit or not though and from Rockstar Games’ Twitter statement, they have indicated there isn’t a huge issue in the grand scheme of things.
“We do not anticipate any disruption to our live game services nor any long-term effect on the development of our ongoing projects”, it was stated.
Six hours ago, GTAForums staff also weight into the situation, believing that the original account on the forum was being operated by two accounts. Although this might not be a significant update, it does imply that rumors suggesting that the hacker group $Lapsus is behind the original hack could be legitimate.
If that’s the case, it could indicate that damaging files could still appear on the internet at any given moment, regardless of if the original hacker is arrested or not.
Source code leaking out on the internet, or to private individuals code has severe consequences for the game in question. Essentially, it’s like leaving your home’s door wide open and leaving for the week; anyone can practically do what they want with it.
UPDATE #1: A new push request by github user 100ksource on Github contains more previously unseen source code, suggesting that the source code has been shared with some people.
Editors note: This unprecedented situation has shown that people will go to extraordinary lengths to create impersonator accounts claiming to be the hacker(s). Other hackers can easily take advantage of people’s desire to obtain information and in the process, they could exploit yours.
Please be careful.
