Take-Two Interactive has moved to unmask the person or persons behind a wave of Grand Theft Auto 6 gameplay leaks, filing subpoenas in the Southern District Court of New York on August 20 that demand records from Microsoft and Discord. According to the filings, first reported by Kotaku, Take-Two submitted a sworn declaration stating the DMCA subpoenas are meant to identify an alleged infringer or infringers, with the information to be used only to protect the company's rights. Both companies have been given until September 4 to comply.
From Microsoft, Take-Two is seeking internal business and investigative records tied to the company's own probe of the 'cyberleek' persona, along with account IDs, registration emails, IP addresses, phone numbers, linked Xbox and Google accounts, device identifiers, and any OneDrive content related to GTA, Rockstar or Cyberleek. From Discord, Take-Two wants identifying information for all accounts that were members of specific servers between June 1 and the present, including message logs, IP access logs, emails, phone numbers, connected accounts and device identifiers.
Among the Discord servers named in the subpoena is one reportedly linked to Australian GTA YouTuber and streamer Matthew Judge, known as DarkViperAU. Judge said on social media he was 'confused' by the inclusion, speculating that the leaker may have referenced him or visited his server, and noted that Rockstar had not contacted him directly, which he took as a sign the company doesn't believe he has personal knowledge of the leaks.
The subpoenas come after several days of leaked clips showing GTA 6 protagonist Jason, including footage of him driving a supercar through Vice City and shooting the word 'leek' into a wall. One leak also showed what appeared to be a realistic gas/refueling system for vehicles, sparking debate among fans over how much realism belongs in the game, with some pointing to a widely cited Gabe Newell comment about designing for fun rather than strict realism. Cyberleek has framed the leaks as being done in the name of gamers' rights, citing grievances such as GTA 6's digital-only release, though reporting has also tied the persona to a $CYBERLEEK meme coin scheme that reportedly generated over $30,000 in trading fees within 24 hours of the first leaks, raising questions about personal financial motives.
Take-Two's stock saw a $2.8 billion hit to its market capitalization in the wake of the leaks, though shares have since recovered to roughly pre-leak levels, and the company's overall market cap remains around $45 billion. Neither Take-Two nor Rockstar has publicly commented on the leaks or the subpoenas as of this reporting. Rockstar and Netflix are set to release an official extended preview of GTA 6 on August 27, ahead of the game's planned November 19 release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.