In the wake of a “network intrusion in which an unauthorized third party illegally accessed and downloaded… early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto,” Rockstar Games wrote that they were “extremely disappointed” that details of their next game, Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6), were shared.
“Disappointment” is not the worst of it for Rockstar, a company that executed the most successful game launch to date. Eleven million copies of GTA 6’s predecessor, Grand Theft Auto (GTA V), were sold on the first day of release, generating sales of $1 billion in just three days and instantly recouping the $250 million development cost several times over. GTA V remains the paradigm of a successful game launch.