Teenager Who Allegedly Leaked GTA 6 Deemed Unfit to Stand Trial

A teenager who is allegedly responsible for hacking Rockstar Games and leaking elements of Grand Theft Auto VI has been deemed unfit to stand trial. Rockstar Games is a notoriously secretive company that keeps its games well under wraps, even up until release. Very little actually seems to leak out and when it does, very few people actually believe it until the game has already been released. With that said, last September, Rockstar Games was hacked and over an hour's worth of footage from Grand Theft Auto 6 was leaked online. This was our first look at GTA 6, a game Rockstar had confirmed was in the works but didn't give any details on. Fans were able to deduce that the game had two protagonists, including the series' first female one, and is set in Vice City. Naturally, despite the fact the game was clearly unfinished, fans were ecstatic to be able to get a look at a game that they've waited a decade for and quickly picked the footage apart for any nugget of information that they could salvage.

It didn't take long for the law to catch up to those that they suspected were behind the hack, but things went quiet last fall. With that said, we have a new update on the story. As reported by Reuters, 18-year-old Arion Kurtaj has been accused by London prosecutors of hacking Rockstar Games and a number of other companies including Uber. This was allegedly done in conjunction with the hacking group known as Lapsus$, but Kurtaj will not stand trial. Psychiatrists assessed the 18-year-old and deemed him unfit to stand trial, so the jury will have to determine whether he carried out the acts he's been accused of rather than determining a guilty or non-guilty verdict. Kurtaj has been charged with 12 offenses, "including three counts of blackmail, two counts of fraud and six charges under the Computer Misuse Act," per Reuters. 

Rockstar Games has not issues any statements about GTA 6 since this hack, but the leaks are not expected to disrupt development in any significant way. Fans are hoping the new Grand Theft Auto will be properly announced later this year, but it's really anyone's guess. It's heavily speculated GTA 6 could release as soon as next year or early 2025, thanks to financial forecasts from Rockstar Games' parent company, Take-Two Interactive.