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A 2023 GTA 6 hack was blamed for a release date delay, but the ShinyHunters security breach won't says Rockstar Games

The cybersecurity attack on Rockstar Games' servers is the second in just a few years but the company seems to imply that far less sensitive material has been taken.

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With one of the biggest video game releases of all time coming up in just a few months, you’d think that Rockstar Games would want to focus on getting the game polished and ready to hit GTA 6’s release date in November 2026. However, the company has once again found itself hit by a cybersecurity attack and its personal data held hostage.

It was only a few years ago that Grand Theft Auto’s developers got hit by a massive security attack. In 2023, it was unfinished in-game assets that got dropped onto the internet and led to a substantial delay in GTA 6’s release. This time, the company seems far less concerned about the data breach. 

On April 13, a group of hackers known as ShinyHunters broke into the cloud storage used by Rockstar Games and stole undisclosed data, threatening the company that they would release it to the public if their demands weren’t met. It is a fairly common tactic of hackers today, especially when so much important data is stored remotely so that teams around the world can work on projects together.

However, Rockstar doesn’t seem overly concerned with this latest hack, telling the BBC that “this incident has no impact on our organization or our players.” A spokesperson for Rockstar Games added, “We can confirm that a limited amount of non-material company information was accessed in connection with a third-party data breach.”

Last time something like this happened, more than 90 clips of gameplay footage for GTA 6 got released online before Rockstar was prepared to share it, causing massive speculation about the current state of the game and resulting in its delay. This time, Rockstar doesn’t seem nearly as worried and could be content to simply let the hackers release the stolen data if it is unlikely to have any significant impact on them and the development of their next Grand Theft Auto game.


The gaming industry has come a long way since Pong blew all our minds in the 70s. We've got everything you need to know about the next big thing in games. Of course, Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be the big game of 2026, but there are plenty of other games coming out between now and then. Here is our starter guide for every gamer:

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Trent Cannon

Trent Cannon: Trent is a freelance writer who has been covering anime, video games, and pop culture for a decade. (He/Him)

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