Rockstar Games breaks silence on Grand Theft Auto 6 leaks
RockstarGrand Theft Auto 6 maker Rockstar Games has issued a statement addressing a series of leaked videos showing the upcoming blockbuster video game.
Clips appearing to show gameplay and cinematics from the title began appearing online last week, but the developer did not acknowledge them straight away.
In a statement, the company said the leaks had been "heartbreaking" for the team working on the sequel, and that they were "not how we intended for you to see the game after all this time".
The company apologised for the delays in releasing official updates on the highly anticipated title, but vowed to "exceed" fans' expectations in a special preview airing on Netflix this week.
When leaks first began to surface, there was some doubt as to whether they were genuine.
But as the days went on, evidence mounted to suggest they were legitimate.
Copies of clips were quickly taken down from social media sites via copyright strikes, where the owner of a work can request its removal.
And, on Friday, Rockstar's parent company Take Two Interactive launched legal proceedings regarding the leaks in a New York court.
Rockstar acknowledged players had been waiting for it to address the leaked footage, and said it was "unfortunate the intended game experience may now be impacted by some spoilers".
It also thanked fans who sent messages of support over the past week, adding: "Your words have meant more to the team than you can imagine."
The group behind the leaks claims to be acting in the interests of players, accusing Rockstar of engaging in anti-consumer practices such as its decision not to release a disc version of GTA 6 at launch.
Not everyone is convinced, as each release of new material has invited viewers to send cryptocurrency "donations" to the user uploading them.
RockstarGTA 6, due to be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles in November, is still expected to be the biggest video game launch of the decade.
The previous game in the series, GTA 5, also broke records when it came out in 2013 and has sold more than 200 million copies since.
Two official trailers for the sixth game have almost 500 million combined views on YouTube, and the Netflix "extended look" on Thursday is being marketed as an event by the streaming service.
Next month the company is due to appear at an employment tribunal in Scotland to defend itself against claims it illegally sacked a group of ex-employees for trying to form a union.
It strongly denies the accusations, and says the workers were fired on the grounds of gross misconduct.
Presenter Shay Thompson regularly covers video games and says she's seen a lot of anger regarding the leaks.
"You've taken the element of surprise away, and then it was just strewn all over the internet," she tells Newsbeat.
"I think people are outraged because they wanted to be able to discover these things themselves."
Esports broadcaster Jared Bajina says people he knows have seen the leaks as an "inevitable" result of the secrecy around GTA 6.
While Jared says he sympathises with some of the complaints aimed at Rockstar, he doesn't agree that its marketing strategy justifies leaks.
"I think the idea that if you don't show enough stuff, then leaks are inevitable is kind of silly.
"I think it's quite impatient," he says.
Both say they have sympathy for those working on the games, who will have been upset at seeing their efforts posted online.
They agree that the leaks ultimately won't have much impact on GTA 6's success, and say the bigger challenge will be living up to expectations.
"I really hope that what we see is going to be proper next-generation gaming," says Jared.
"I think Rockstar is one of the true triple-A developers left at the moment and I think a really, really big announcement with lots of flashy gameplay which looks gorgeous will put a lot of the leaks behind us."
Shay adds: "It's been such a long time since the last GTA entry.
"And usually GTA games are a biting satire on whatever's happening in the world at the moment.
"Since GTA 6 entered development, the world has changed so much.
"So I'm very, very curious to see what direction they take with the story. That's the biggest thing that I'm going to be paying attention to."
