Rockstar Games hit by data breach ahead of GTA 6 launch, hackers demand ransom
Follow UsThe ransomware group ShinyHunters has listed Rockstar Games as its victim on the dark web leak site.
Hackers have given Rockstar until April 14 to pay up.
If the demand is not met, the attackers claim they will release or sell the allegedly stolen data online.
Rockstar Games is gearing up to release its much-awaited Grand Theft Auto VI later this year. But, currently, the studio is dealing with a cybersecurity issue. The company behind the popular Grand Theft Auto series has confirmed that it has been affected by a data breach after a well-known hacker group claimed responsibility for the incident.
SurveyThe ransomware group ShinyHunters has listed Rockstar Games as its victim on the dark web leak site, which hackers often use to promote successful attacks and pressure victims into paying ransom quickly. Hackers have given Rockstar until April 14 to pay up, reports Forbes. If the demand is not met, the attackers claim they will release or sell the allegedly stolen data online.
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Despite the claims, Rockstar says the impact is limited and does not affect its players. ‘We can confirm that a limited amount of non-material company information was accessed in connection with a third-party data breach,’ A Rockstar Games spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report. ‘This incident has no impact on our organisation or our players.’
Reports suggest the attack was not aimed directly at Rockstar’s internal systems. Instead, hackers reportedly targeted a third-party service connected to the company. The attackers first breached a SaaS cloud-cost monitoring tool used by Rockstar. This allowed them to obtain authentication tokens. Using those stolen tokens, the hackers were reportedly able to enter another cloud-based data platform used by the company.
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In a message posted on its leak site, the hacker group wrote: ‘Rockstar Games, your Snowflake instances were compromised thanks to Anodot.com. Pay or leak. This is a final warning to reach out by 14 Apr 2026 before we leak, along with several annoying (digital) problems that’ll come your way.’
As of now, the exact type of information accessed in the breach remains unclear.
