Grand Theft Auto 6 parent company Take-Two Interactive is officially heading to federal court to try and track down whoever is behind a series of recent leaks.
According to Kotaku, both Microsoft and Discord are being subpoenaed by Take-Two to release pertinent records to help track down the leaker, known publicly as CYBERLEEK, who has been posting gameplay videos of the anticipated title ahead of its full reveal next week.
A court filing set a Sept. 5 deadline for “all internal Microsoft business records and investigative records associated with Microsoft’s internal investigation of the ‘cyberleek’ persona sufficient to identify the user(s), person(s) and/or entity/ies associated with that persona.”
Similarly, the same deadline has been put in place for Discord to release info on “all user accounts that are/were members communicating with the Discord server(s)” that involve “CYBERLEEK,” “CINEMATICROCKSTAR,” and “Surfer24k™ (+ replacement handles cyberleek_west, surwest),” as well as “Ødyssey.gg,” “‘! Odyssey’ public brand guild (discord.gg/odyssey),” and even YouTuber/Twitch streamer “DarkViperAU editors’ server (discord.gg/darkviperau).”
The subpoenas dated Aug. 20 in the Southern District Court of New York claim Take-Two’s copyrighted material that “includes but is not limited to audiovisual content, artwork, images, dialogue, or other creative elements.” Several videos of GTA 6 in action released by the leaker over the last few days show main character Jason traveling around Vice City on foot, in cars, and even in a plane, attacking NPCs, and otherwise revealing footage that comes from a build of the game not yet released.
“Take-Two, through its counsel of record, has submitted a sworn declaration confirming that the purpose for which the DMCA subpoena is sought is to obtain the identity of an alleged infringer or infringers, and that such information will only be used for the purpose of protecting Take-Two’s rights,” the filing says.
The leaker published a pseudo-manifesto demanding three “commandments” angrily aimed at Take-Two and other publishers for the ending of physical media, with each video simultaneously trying to sell a cryptocoin and raise funds. It’s expected that, if caught, the leaker will face indictments for some serious crimes and likely jail time.
This is a breaking news story. It’s being written in real time.
