The crisis surrounding Rockstar Games Grand Theft Auto VI has deepened after the unidentified CyberLeek operation released further apparent gameplay footage, launched another paid poll and issued a new message attacking the industry’s move away from physical game discs.
The developments come just days before Rockstar’s planned extended look at GTA 6, leaving the company confronting an unusual situation in which apparently unreleased elements of one of the world’s most anticipated games are being gradually published rather than released as a single conventional leak.
BPI News has seen some of the footage purportedly originating from CyberLeek but is not publishing, embedding or distributing the leaked copyrighted material.
CyberLeek’s identity remains unknown and it remains unclear whether the name represents one individual or a group.
CyberLeek Launches Another Paid Leak Poll
The operation has again allowed users to influence which purported GTA 6 footage will be released next by making payments.
An image of the CyberLeek website seen by BPI News shows a live poll offering options including “Beach”, “Nudist Town” and “Strip Club 2”.
The poll displays the number of payments received by each option and the proportion of the vote it represents.
In a particularly striking transaction, blockchain data circulated alongside the poll appears to show a transfer valued at approximately $1,202 connected with the voting activity.
The payment was reported to have been made in support of the “Nudist Town” option, demonstrating how what began as an unauthorised release of alleged game footage has developed a financial component in which people are prepared to spend substantial amounts attempting to determine what is published next.
CyberLeek previously used its own cryptocurrency to conduct a similar poll.
Rather than each participant receiving one vote, the system effectively allows participants to financially back their preferred option.
New Footage Appears Online
CyberLeek has meanwhile continued releasing footage purportedly taken from a playable GTA 6 development build.
The ninth apparent clip has been described as continuing gameplay previously shown around protagonist Jason’s home in Key Lento.
Analysis of the footage by GTA communities has identified apparent vehicle suspension and damage systems, interactions at a petrol station, carjacking mechanics, changes to the game’s navigation interface and what appears to be a system allowing money to be stored away from the player’s wallet.
The footage also appears to demonstrate extensive vehicle deformation and destruction.
Some animations visible in the material appear unfinished, supporting the possibility that the footage originates from a development or beta build rather than the version consumers will eventually receive.
Another apparent clip shows Jason flying a stunt aircraft over Vice City at night.
It provides a wider view of the game’s environment, including illuminated buildings, boats, yachts, traffic and the city’s airport.
Players analysing the footage have also identified what appear to be multiple radio stations and fishing-related elements.
Any mechanics visible in development footage remain subject to change and should not necessarily be taken as representative of the finished game.
CyberLeek Issues New Physical-Disc Message
CyberLeek has also continued attempting to frame the leaks as a campaign over consumer ownership.
A message included in the latest purported footage argues that consumers are being deprived of their ability to resell games and says the operation believes peaceful opposition to the decline of physical media has failed.
It follows earlier messages accompanying the leaks including the slogan: “No physical discs? Then more leeks!”
CyberLeek has previously set out a wider agenda opposing digital-only releases, certain forms of paid single-player content and games becoming permanently unusable when publishers shut down online infrastructure.
Those arguments have become intertwined with the unauthorised distribution of Rockstar material and CyberLeek’s cryptocurrency operation.
The campaign has also increasingly adopted confrontational rhetoric as further footage has appeared.
Why The Apparent Playable Build Matters
One of the most significant aspects of the incident is the apparent ability of whoever is recording the footage to control what happens inside the game.
An earlier video appeared to show the player firing bullets into a wall to spell “LEEK”.
If authentic, deliberately creating something of that kind inside the game would be considerably harder to explain as somebody simply possessing a folder of previously recorded Rockstar videos.
The continuing appearance of footage showing different actions and locations has consequently intensified speculation that CyberLeek, or somebody supplying material to it, has had access to a playable development build.
Exactly when that access occurred is not established.
There is still no public evidence demonstrating whether CyberLeek currently has continuing access to the build, whether the footage was recorded previously, or how the material was obtained.
That distinction is important.
A finite collection of stolen recordings can eventually be exhausted. Access to a playable build could theoretically allow somebody to deliberately search for unrevealed mechanics, locations, missions or story material and record new footage on demand.
Rockstar And Take-Two Hunt For The Source
Take-Two has been attempting to remove copies of the material through copyright enforcement as the footage spreads across social-media platforms and gaming communities.
Reporting has also indicated that legal efforts are being made to obtain information which could help identify those responsible.
Microsoft and Discord have reportedly been among the companies from which information has been sought, while claims have circulated that accounts sharing or potentially connected with the material are being examined.
The central question remains how CyberLeek obtained the material.
CyberLeek has largely avoided establishing the conventional social-media presence normally associated with high-profile leakers, instead using its own web infrastructure and communicating through a limited number of channels.
That has also produced numerous impersonators, making it difficult to establish whether claims attributed to the operation elsewhere online are genuine.
Reddit User Says Rockstar Representatives Came To His Home
The investigation has produced one particularly unusual development involving Reddit user “pilotx1970”.
The user had previously made a prediction concerning GTA 6 which included August 18 the date on which CyberLeek subsequently began releasing its apparent material.
According to the user, two men later arrived at his home acting on Rockstar’s behalf and sought to establish whether he had any connection to CyberLeek.
The user has strongly denied any involvement and says the prediction was simply an unfortunate coincidence.
He said he had been attempting to predict when Rockstar might release another GTA 6 trailer, settling on a Tuesday in the middle of August.
CyberLeek then appearing on August 18 transformed what would otherwise have been an unremarkable prediction into something investigators could potentially regard as worth examining.
There is currently no evidence establishing that the Reddit user had advance knowledge of the leaks or any connection with CyberLeek.
Leak Campaign Increasingly Commercialised
CyberLeek’s activity has changed considerably since the first footage appeared.
What initially looked like another major gaming leak now combines apparent GTA 6 material, ideological demands, cryptocurrency, paid voting and attempts to monetise access to the attention generated by the leaks.
CyberLeek has previously advertised paid advertising opportunities and purportedly offered the possibility of requesting customised gameplay footage.
The contact page stated that a payment of 400 XMR worth roughly $160,000 at the time it was publicised would be required merely to establish contact for negotiations, separate from whatever would subsequently be charged for advertising or requested material.
The operation said this was not a ransom arrangement under which Rockstar or another publisher could pay to prevent information being released.
Instead, it presented the system as advertising and commercial access to its audience.
The new paid poll provides another demonstration of the money now circulating around the operation.
Cryptocurrency Rises Alongside Attention
CyberLeek has also promoted its own cryptocurrency alongside the purported GTA 6 material.
The token has experienced extreme volatility as attention surrounding the leaks has increased.
Its structure has created a direct relationship between the popularity of the leaked material and interest in the cryptocurrency: footage generates publicity, publicity draws attention to the token, and the token can then be used to participate in decisions over subsequent footage.
Such tokens can be exceptionally volatile and their quoted market capitalisation does not necessarily represent money that holders could actually withdraw. Limited liquidity and concentrated ownership can cause valuations to change sharply when substantial holders attempt to sell.
CyberLeek has described the cryptocurrency as a donation mechanism rather than an investment.
Three Days Before Rockstar’s Planned Reveal
The timing has made the incident particularly damaging for Rockstar’s carefully controlled marketing campaign.
The latest material is appearing immediately before an extended official look at GTA 6 is expected on August 27.
Instead of simply dumping everything it possesses, CyberLeek has been releasing material incrementally, using polls and timed releases to maintain attention around each new piece of footage.
That strategy also leaves uncertainty over how much unreleased material remains.
Some of the material already circulating appears to show gameplay systems and environmental details that Rockstar may have intended to reveal itself.
At the same time, footage originating from an unfinished development build cannot reliably demonstrate the quality, performance or exact feature set of the final release.
GTA 6 is currently scheduled for release on November 19.