GTA 6 Lead's Reaction to 2022 Infamous Leak: 'It's Like Someone Walking In on Your Dirty Laundry'
Rockstar also said it is unlikely to return to a work-from-home model, because many people want to 'steal' its games.
Rockstar also said it likely won't return to a work-from-home model because too many people want to "steal" its games.
Cyberleek Grand Theft Auto 6 GTA 6 Leak Games Rockstar
In 2022, Grand Theft Auto 6 has been leaked in an unprecedented way, giving players an early look at the still-in-development open-world sequel. Four years later, and just weeks before GTA 6's release on November 19th, Rockstar North co-head of development and studio Aaron Garbutt explained how it felt to see the leak appear online.
On October 14th, Bloomberg published an in-depth and lengthy report on Rockstar's work on GTA 6 and how it has expanded to become one of the largest game developers in the world. And in the report, Garbut openly talked about seeing the unfinished clips of GTA 6 floating around the internet and explained how he felt at that moment.
"I feel like someone's going through your dirty laundry," Garbott said. "It's like they're inside your head. You see your early work there. No one should ever see it."
The longtime Rockstar vet, who has worked on the GTA franchise since the very first game, also said it was "weirdly aggressive" to see those clips online, adding that it was "very hard on an emotional level."
After the 2022 leak, Rockstar Games began reversing some of its work-from-home policies and practices, and by 2024 all employees had to return to the office five days a week. The company cited security concerns for its return-to-office policy. Rockstar also banned all developers from accessing the company's servers and tools from home, forcing them to use vacation or sick days if they needed to stay home for childcare or other emergencies. Rockstar Games plans to review its policies after the release of GTA 6, but publishing director Jennifer Kolb doubted the studio would return to the hybrid model anytime soon.
"The idea that we're going to have the game in that kind of environment is something that I think the security team doesn't like," Kolbe explained.
"I think if we didn't have a game that people wanted to steal as much, maybe the conversation would be easier."
Despite these limitations, in August, Cyberleek began sharing Grand Theft Auto 6 gameplay online. Bloomberg reports that this led to frustration at the studio, as the developers felt they had made too many sacrifices and it didn't matter in the end because it still leaked. On Wednesday, Cyberleek claimed it had done so by leaking GTA 6 clips.
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