Details on how the GTA 6 trailer leaked have been revealed. A full timeline of events and who did was just published to Twitter by a well known internet detective. Many GTA fans would not have expected to get an inside look into how it leaked but here we are.
Setting the stage
The GTA 6 trailer leaking a day early will go down in history. Not just in the games industry but also internet history. It shocked fans and developers alike. Despite the craziness of that fateful evening, some fans were curious to find out how on earth it happened.
The leading theory was the leak came from YouTube due to recent other gaming leaks occurring ahead of showcases which were set to Premiere on YouTube. Under the assumption a YouTube/Google employee with backend access leaked the trailer, fans thought something would be done internally.
We recently shared a report by Insider Gaming who said an investigation was launched at Google shortly after the GTA VI trailer leaked. It’s not confirmed if this is the case but it did add some support to the idea a Google employee or other bad actor stole the video from Rockstar’s YouTube channel backend.
How the GTA VI trailer leaked
Since then, crypto scam detective known as ZachXBT on Twitter, has revealed the inside story on how exactly it leaked on December 4th 2023.
Zach states the person behind the leak is a “threat actor” who goes under the name “Skenkir”. This person purchased access to a YouTube admin panel, the backend of YouTube. This grants employees full access to all videos of channels, including those that are private. Zach shared an image of the trailer’s admin panel which Google employees can see. It is unknown how much the apparent Google employee was paid.
Leak timeline
Now for the timeline and messages sent by the bad actor. At 20:50/51 UTC, Skenkir tells someone they have the GTA VI trailer and that they want to leak it with a BUY $BTC watermark. As we know, the trailer was indeed leaked with text over it saying BUY $BTC. Skenkir also said they did not know where they could post it everywhere.
A few minutes later at 20:58, Skenkir offers this unknown contact a “little sneak peek”. The logo and release year still from the trailer is sent. Then exactly 1 hour later, the trailer was posted to Twitter on the account called @Gta6trailerleak. It racked up millions of views before Take-Two Interactive hit it with the copyright hammer.
Speaking of Twitter (currently known as X), the site’s owner Elon Musk claims he can’t play GTA due to the violence. Rockstar Games also trolled Twitter over their current CEO begging for the GTA VI trailer to be posted on the platform.
Known scammer
Zach also reported that Skenkir has been around for sometime doing criminal activities. According to the detective, Skenkir has featured in over 40 high-profile SIM swapping situations. The targets included people such as Steve Aoki. All of these incidents have taken place in the past year or so.
SIM swapping is the act of phishing to receive a new SIM of the victim’s number. That then makes the person’s current SIM dead and the attacker can then receive two-factor-authentication codes to access accounts and data.
This is not the first time a leaker has been exposed. The teen behind the incredibly large GTA VI gameplay leak was sentenced at the end of last year for his crimes. You can learn more about that criminal case here.
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