Almost 10 months after the historic footage leak from Rockstar’s upcoming GTA 6, we have new details of the resulting lawsuit. Professionals have deemed the teen hacker responsible mentally unfit for court proceedings.
After the singular success of GTA 5, the third highest-selling video game of all time, fans of the franchise have been rabid for any information concerning a sequel.
On September 18, 2022, a hacker delivered what fans were hoping for in one of the largest leaks of its kind. They published over 90 videos featuring in-development footage of GTA 6 and attempted to ransom the game’s source code for a five-figure sum.
According to Reuters, hacker Arion Kurtaj has been assessed by a panel of psychologists who have proclaimed him “unfit to stand trial”. This means that a UK court “will determine whether he committed the acts alleged, rather than deliver a guilty or not guilty verdict”.
Hacker who allegedly leaked GTA 6 videos has been deemed unfit to stand trial due psychiatric evaluation pic.twitter.com/XxnxO2WcV2
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) July 16, 2023
18-year-old Kurtaj is currently facing 12 charges including three counts of blackmail and nine others including fraud. An unnamed accomplice is being tried alongside him and both are alleged to be members of the Hacker collective ‘Lapsus$’.
Both hackers have been accused of blackmailing Britain’s largest broadband provider for $4 million and are also facing charges relating to a hack on Nvidia Corp.
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Kurtaj alone is said to have targeted Revolut and Uber in September 2022, causing nearly $3 million of financial damage to the ridesharing and delivery service. He’s also believed to be the sole perpetrator of the Rockstar hack.
Along with the in-progress gameplay footage and source code for GTA 6, someone claiming to be Kurtaj purported to have data pertaining to a reportedly canceled Bully sequel. In tweets published at the time of the hacks, screenshots of a conversation with someone claiming to be Kurtaj mentioned a development plan for Bully 2.
RUMOR: There is an image circulating around of a conversation someone had with the GTA 6 hacker, in which he claims to be selling development documents & footage of the cancelled Bully 2.This is unverified right now. pic.twitter.com/6zmbtVRkvw
— Michael (@LegacyKillaHD) September 18, 2022
Conversation surrounding this event on social media has led to speculation that Kurtaj “got away” with the hack. It’s important to note that while he won’t appear in court, he is not immune from potential punishment.
No verdict has yet been reached on Kurtaj’s guilt or innocence but we’ll update our readers with details of the trial’s conclusion. For more information on GTA 6, check out everything we know so far.