The specter of the 2022 GTA VI hack continues to haunt Rockstar Games. Arion Kurtaj, the teenager who infiltrated Rockstar's systems and leaked hours of development footage, has reportedly obtained a smartphone inside his UK detention facility and made alarming claims about the game's source code.
What Kurtaj Claims
In conversations that surfaced online, Kurtaj expressed surprise that the stolen GTA VI source code hasn't leaked yet, stating it's "definitely somewhere" and implying multiple people may have access to it.
This is significant because while the 2022 leak exposed gameplay footage, the source code itself was believed to be contained. If the full source code were to leak:
Rockstar's Response
Rockstar has not publicly commented on Kurtaj's claims. However, Take-Two Interactive (Rockstar's parent company) has reaffirmed the November 19, 2026 release date, suggesting they don't consider the source code situation a launch-blocking threat.
The 2022 Hack: A Refresher
In September 2022, Kurtaj (then 18) breached Rockstar's internal Slack and Confluence systems, downloading:
He leaked the footage on GTAForums, causing the biggest game leak in history. Kurtaj was later convicted and sentenced to an indefinite hospital order due to his autism diagnosis.
Should Fans Be Worried?
The short answer: probably not about the release date. Rockstar has had over three years to:
The bigger concern is GTA Online 2.0's security at launch. If hackers have a head start analyzing the codebase, the multiplayer experience could face challenges from day one.
What Happens Next
Security researchers and Rockstar's legal team are likely monitoring the situation closely. Take-Two has been extremely aggressive with legal action against leakers and modders in recent years — anyone distributing source code would face severe consequences.
For now, the November 19 date holds. But this story is far from over.