Take-Two seeks federal subpoenas as alleged GTA VI footage keeps spreading before Rockstar’s Aug. 27 ‘Extended Look’

Fresh alleged Grand Theft Auto VI footage continued circulating this weekend even after Take-Two Interactive escalated its response with federal DMCA subpoena filings aimed at identifying the leaker, underscoring how difficult it has been to contain the breach just days before Rockstar Games’ scheduled Aug. 27 “Extended Look.”

Reports published Friday and Saturday described new short clips showing robberies and police chases, with one clip reportedly ending as the protagonist reaches a strip-club entrance. Rockstar has not publicly authenticated any of the leaked material. Still, Rockstar and parent company Take-Two have been issuing DMCA takedowns against mirrors of the footage, signaling the publisher is treating the material as infringing.

The legal push began Aug. 20, when Take-Two filed DMCA subpoena petitions in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking records from Microsoft and Discord. The filings say the company wants “to obtain the identity of an alleged infringer or infringers” and that “such information will only be used for the purpose of protecting Take-Two’s rights.”

According to reporting on the petitions, Microsoft and Discord were given a response deadline around Sept. 4. The Microsoft request seeks records tied to the “cyberleek” persona, including linked account information, IP addresses, registration emails, phone numbers and device identifiers. The Discord petition seeks identifying information tied to accounts in servers connected to the leaks dating from June 1 onward.

A pseudonymous actor or group using the name Cyberleek began posting alleged GTA 6 gameplay clips and map images in mid-August, with the first widely noticed posts reported Aug. 18. Material attributed to Cyberleek has included multiple short gameplay clips and an image presented as the full “Leonida” map. Several outlets have also pointed to clips that appear to use Tate McRae’s “Sports Car,” released in January 2025, as a possible sign that at least some footage, if genuine, came from a relatively recent build rather than an early prototype. Rockstar has not confirmed that.

The timing matters because Rockstar’s official site lists “Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look” for Aug. 27 at 3 p.m. ET, with the game’s release date set for Nov. 19, 2026. The continued spread of alleged footage days before that presentation raises the pressure on Take-Two and Rockstar as they prepare to show the game on their own terms.

A DMCA Section 512(h) subpoena is a legal tool that allows a copyright holder to seek identifying information from online platforms in order to trace an alleged infringer. Rockstar has dealt with a major GTA VI leak before: In 2022, unfinished footage spread online, and authorities in the United Kingdom later arrested a teenage suspect.

Microsoft has publicly said it is cooperating. Scott Van Vliet, Xbox’s chief technology officer, wrote on X: “We are working closely with Take-Two and Rockstar Games to support efforts to protect creative works and intellectual property.”