Take-Two seeks subpoenas over GTA 6 leaks

Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two Interactive filed requests with a federal court for subpoenas seeking information from Microsoft and Discord regarding gameplay leaks for its eagerly anticipated “Grand Theft Auto 6” — coming more than three months ahead of the game’s release.

Per the documents, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday, the “copyrighted material includes but is not limited to audiovisual content, artwork, images, dialogue, or other creative elements.” Take-Two is seeking data from both Microsoft and Discord under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to “identify alleged infringers at issue.”

Multiple alleged “GTA 6” gameplay videos have been released this week by a hacker group calling itself CyberLeek, which claims to have obtained a playable build of the game. The videos have been posted across multiple websites and subsequently removed and continued to appear in new locations.

According to Take-Two’s subpoena directed to Microsoft, “GTA 6” copyrighted content was posted to Microsoft’s GitHub developer platform. The DMCA subpoena aimed at Discord alleges infringing content was posted on the Discord Server under various accounts.

In a statement to Variety, a Discord spokesperson said, “Discord sometimes receives subpoenas related to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). We review and comply with valid subpoenas when we receive them, as is standard and routine for companies like ours.”

Scott Van Vliet, CTO of Microsoft’s Xbox division, wrote in a statement posted Friday on X, “We are working closely with Take-Two and Rockstar Games to support efforts to protect creative works and intellectual property.”

Rockstar has yet to publicly confirm the authenticity of the alleged “GTA 6” leaks or released any statement regarding the situation beyond these subpoenas.

“GTA 6” is set to launch for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S and X consoles Nov. 19. Netflix will debut an exclusive “extended look” at the game on Aug. 27, which will later be available on YouTube and other platforms.

During an earnings call with analysts Aug. 7, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said “GTA 6” had an “exceptional start to preorders,” which were open for five days during the quarter, but did not disclose specific sales numbers.

-Variety