In context: If there’s one thing that validates the legitimacy of a massive gaming leak, it’s the company behind said title responding with copyright strikes that force the content to be removed. That’s what Take-Two did soon after the 90+ videos and screenshots of GTA 6 started hitting the web yesterday. We’ve also heard that the leaker responsible, who says he is the same 18-year-old hacker that breached Uber, is looking to “negotiate a deal” with Take-Two/Rockstar.

Update: Rockstar has confirmed that the leaked material is genuine and it is “extremely disappointed” to see GTA 6 details shared in this manner. The studio stressed that the incident will not delay the project, which is set to arrive in 2024 or 2025.

The company said, “We recently suffered a network intrusion in which an unauthorized third party illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information from our systems, including early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto.”

“At this time, we do not anticipate any disruption to our live game services nor any long-term effect on the development of our ongoing projects.”

The internet almost imploded yesterday when someone with the username teapotuberhacker, who claims to be the same hacker behind the massive Uber breach that occurred last week, posted a slew of content from GTA 6 on the GTAForums, including early developer test build footage that confirms the rumors of a female Latina protagonist.

While the voice acting, dialogue, and several other elements make the leak look very convincing, one can never be 100% certain these things are authentic and not the extensive work of a hoaxer. However, it appears that Rockstar parent Take-Two was quick to send out copyright takedown requests—they originate from a Rockstar-affiliated email address.

The original GTAForums post has now been locked and the link has been removed, while posts containing GTA 6 content on YouTube, Twitter, and other sites that comply with copyright strikes have disappeared.

The Wanted Level of the guy who leaked GTA 6. pic.twitter.com/whxhuHLOpc

— Okami Games (@Okami13_) September 18, 2022

Teapotuberhacker also left an email address asking to be contacted by Rockstar staff so he could “negotiate a deal,” suggesting the leak could be part of a ransom similar to the one CD Projekt Red suffered last year that saw source code to Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3, and an unreleased version of The Witcher 3 stolen.

Take-Two Interactive isn’t one for holding back when it comes to launching legal action. Back in 2018, the company obtained a court order to search the homes of five people in Australia connected to the ‘Infamous’ mod menu for GTA Online. It allowed police to enter buildings and search, copy, or remove relevant evidence related to Infamous, including any computers, electronic storage devices, or documents.