Aaron Garbut, co-head of development at Rockstar North, tells Bloomberg the 2022 leak felt "weirdly invasive". Per Tech Edition, it fed into the five-days-in-office policy.
Sources techedt.com
Aaron Garbut, co-head of development at Rockstar Games, describes the September 2022 leak as a personal ordeal. According to Tech Edition, which reports a Bloomberg interview, the breach left an emotional mark on developers and weighed on the studio's security measures.
Per Tech Edition, a hacker had accessed Rockstar's internal Slack and published dozens of videos of unfinished GTA 6. The footage spread fast on social media, long before the studio was ready to show its game. Rockstar confirmed the breach and filed copyright takedowns, but could not contain the spread.
Garbut talks about work never meant to be seen: "It feels like somebody's wading through your dirty washing. It's like they're inside your head. You see your early work out there. Nobody's ever supposed to see that. It's really weirdly invasive. And so it's quite hard to deal with on an emotional level."
The same article ties the episode to a security rethink. In 2024, Rockstar required five days a week in the office, with server and tool access restricted outside the premises. Tech Edition notes the rule complicated life for staff who had to stay home for family or emergency reasons, some having to use holiday leave. It also lands at a studio already criticised for crunch after Red Dead Redemption 2.
Read also GTA 6 review copies reportedly show the reviewer's name on screen
Also per the outlet, Jennifer Kolbe, head of publishing, told Bloomberg that Rockstar intends to revisit its working arrangements after GTA 6 launches, while suggesting a return to a conventional hybrid model, three days in the office and two remote, might not be simple. No decision has been announced.
The comments come as protective measures multiply around launch. We have already covered the review copies said to show the tester's name and the employee union vote scheduled for November 12 to 26. We do not have the full Bloomberg interview, only Tech Edition's account, so the quotes should be read through it.
For players, nothing concrete changes before launch. But the remarks show what a leak costs the people making the game, and they shed light on the tighter internal rules. Release dates and edition details stay on our release page.
Sources techedt.com
Rumor Unverified: leak or rumor, be careful · See every fact-checked rumor: the Verdict of the 19th
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