Game leaks early in a development cycle often leads to delays, which is a case many feared when the massive GTA VI leak broke the Internet in September. Thankfully, Take Two Interactive CEO, Strauss Zelnick, says the publisher’s major money-maker will not negatively affect the game’s development.
In case you were hiding under a rock, or escaped with a wad of cash to the Bahamas and currently sipping a Mojito or Sangria on a secluded beach and staring into the sunset, over 90 videos and screenshots allegedly taken from a test build appeared on a GTA forum and spread like wildfire on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and the like.
Obviously, the culprit, who is allegedly a teenager, was caught and is currently going through court proceedings, pleading not guilty to two counts of computer misuse.
Take-Two, on the other hand, has had a recent fiscal 2023 earnings call presented by Zelnick who explained, “With regards to the leak, it was terribly unfortunate, and we take those sorts of incidents very seriously indeed,” further adding, “There’s no evidence that any material assets were taken, which is a good thing, and certainly the leak won’t have any influence on development or anything of the sort. But it is terribly disappointing, and causes us to be ever more vigilant on matters relating to cybersecurity.”
As for Rockstar Games, the company is performing better than ever, as GTA V has sold over 170 million copies to date, though last quarter receiving an underwhelming ‘updated and enhanced’ version for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles.
Thanks to this, GTA’s Online component grew over 40 per cent this quarter with an increased monetisation at a rate of 36 per cent higher than players on the previous generation.
Also, the advent of GTA+, a premium membership only on console, resonated with audiences both old and new, operating at 49 per cent higher compared to the pre-pandemic first quarter of 2020. Rounding off, RDR2 continues to expand, reaching 45 million units worldwide. Nice.
No official release date or trailer has been released for GTA V, and hopefully we won’t have to wait too long.
