Following the massive leak of GTA VI, where over 90 videos of early development footage of the upcoming title were released online, today, police have arrested 17-year-old suspected hacker who may be behind the leak as well as the recent Uber hack.
The leaked footage has essentially confirmed earlier reports of a female protagonist and the game’s setting which is most likely Vice City. The words Vice City appear in some of the released clips such as a character on the “Vice City Metro.” Vice City is a fictionalized version of Miami, Florida and was the setting for 2001’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. It wouldn’t be the first time that Rockstar Games used a setting multiple times. Grand Theft Auto III took place in Liberty City, a fictionalized version of New York. Grand Theft Auto IV was also set in Liberty City.
Some of the other clips showed an updated UI, animations, and even Rockstar’s internal debug tools for the game on PlayStation. Plus, it seems that Grand Theft Auto VI will be utilizing the conversation and interaction system from Red Dead Redemption II where players could interact with any NPC in the world. Following the leak, Rockstar said that development on the game will continue as planned and that there will be no disruption to its live game services.
Journalist Matthew Keys reported that the arrest is the result of an investigation involving the City of London Police, the UK’s National Cyber Crime Unit, and the FBI. The hacker was arrested in Oxfordshire.
Following its cybersecurity incident, Uber claims that the hack came from the group Lapsus$. The group has targeted tech firms like Microsoft, Samsung, and T-Mobile. Uber said that they are still trying to determine the impact of the intrusion but no user accounts were accessed.
The 17-year-old is suspected to be a part of Lapsus$. Oxfordshire is allegedly home to one of the leaders of the hacking group. Another teenager from Oxford was identified by researchers and hackers as having ties to the group in March. In the same month, seven teenagers with alleged ties to Lapsus$ were arrested but it wasn’t confirmed if the Oxford teen was one of the seven arrested.
According to Keys, the investigation is still open and additional suspects may be identified in the coming days.