Grand Theft IP... Video-game titan Take-Two Interactive is feeling the heat as it suffers from one of the biggest leaks in gaming history. Over the weekend a hacker posted 90 previously unreleased clips from Take-Two's highly anticipated "Grand Theft Auto VI," including new locations and characters. Yesterday Take-Two's stock dropped 3% before rebounding higher — but is still down almost 30% this year.
- Pause: GTA's publisher, Rockstar Games, confirmed the leaked videos are real and is trying to stop their spread on sites like YouTube.
- Play: "GTA V" is still one of the best-selling video games ever, despite being released nearly a decade ago.
Ready player none… Take-Two's GTA hack kicks the video-game biz (which is on pace for its first sales decline in seven years) while it's down. Cyberattacks on gaming companies and users have increased 167% over the past year, as hackers look for more ways to exploit the multibillion-dollar industry. Leaks could be just the start: in July hackers posted stolen documents from Roblox in an attempt to extort the biz.
It’s hard to put the IP genie back in the bottle… Gaming companies are famous for keeping releases secret. While leaks can sometimes boost hype, they can also force developers (like Take-Two and Rockstar) to make changes to games and delay releases. And delays = lost $$. "GTA VI" is expected to earn $3.5B in bookings on its 2025 debut, and $2B a year after that.