Rockstar Removes Footage of Scrapped GTA 5 DLC and Early GTA 6 Map Version

Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games are once again taking strong action against old data. According to a report by IGN, videos and images showing scrapped additional content for GTA 5 as well as a very early version of the later-revealed GTA 6 map are currently being actively removed from the internet. Both originate from the extensive data package that circulated online after the infamous Rockstar hack of 2022.

Why is Rockstar Removing Old Material from the Hack Again Now?

Specifically, according to IGN, the content in question includes footage of an apparently planned but never-released expansion for GTA 5 related to Liberty City, as well as a clearly unfinished, early version of the GTA 6 world map. Both pieces of content originally surfaced during the 2022 hack, which saw internal Rockstar files, source code fragments, and dozens of gameplay clips from the development of GTA 6 made public. Take-Two has since regularly employed DMCA takedowns whenever snippets resurface or make the rounds again – apparently even now, several years after the original incident.

What Exactly Was the 2022 GTA 6 Hack and What Was Its Outcome?

In September 2022, a then-minor member of the hacking group Lapsus$ gained access to internal Rockstar systems and published over 90 video clips from an early development phase of GTA 6, along with screenshots, test environments, and internal documents. It was one of the biggest data leaks in the history of the gaming industry. Rockstar's parent company Take-Two reacted at the time with a wave of takedown requests but was never able to completely stop the spread – to this day, individual fragments, screenshots, and fan analyses distilled from them reappear in forums, on Discord servers, and on social media. The main perpetrator was later convicted of multiple cybercrime offenses.

From our perspective, the current case primarily shows how persistent old data remains, even years after its initial publication: For Take-Two, every new wave of reuploads is a legal game of whack-a-mole, while the fan and datamining community continually reprocesses, comments on, or cross-references the old files with current knowledge about Take-Two and Rockstar. For players, this primarily means one thing: anyone wanting to wait for official information about GTA 6 can hardly avoid Rockstar's own channels, as old footage can disappear from the internet at any time.

The case is also interesting because the current approach shows that Rockstar makes no compromises when it comes to controlling its visual material – similar to its consistent handling of the strict modding policy for GTA 6, which also sets clear boundaries for the community.

Source: IGN

Do you remember any screenshots or clips from the 2022 GTA 6 hack? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!