'It feels like somebody’s wading through your dirty washing' — Rockstar says GTA 6 leaks in 2022 felt 'weirdly invasive' and was 'hard to deal with on an emotional level'

Grand Theft Auto 6 leaks in 2022 were an invasive moment for Rockstar Games, co-head of development Aaron Garbut said in a Bloomberg interview. The leaks, which occurred after the company’s Slack channel was hacked in September, involved the release of raw, unfinished gameplay footage. The unauthorized release of the footage was deeply unsettling, Garbut explained, likening it to “somebody’s wading through your dirty washing” and feeling “like they’re inside your head.”

It was an emotional blow for the studio, one that forced a significant policy shift. As a result, Rockstar implemented a controversial in-office work policy in 2024, requiring every developer to work in the office five days a week. The policy also banned developers from accessing Rockstar’s servers and tools outside the office, meaning they had to take vacation days if they needed to stay home for emergencies.

This new policy set back the studio's efforts to return to a more flexible work environment after the crunch that led to Red Dead Redemption 2’s release. Rockstar’s head of publishing, Jennifer Kolbe, told Bloomberg that the studio plans to reevaluate the policy after GTA 6 launches, but she doubts the studio will be able to switch to a more common three-day-in, two-day-out hybrid work model.

The idea of having the game in so many environments is something the security team wouldn't love, Kolbe explained. "I think if we did not have a game that people wanted to steal as much, maybe it would be an easier conversation." Unfortunately, more leaks have continued to occur, most recently ahead of Rockstar’s GTA 6 extended look, and the leaks persist to this day.

A well-known leaker, known as Cyberleek, has threatened to release more leaks before the game’s November 19 launch.