What happened to the hacker behind the massive GTA 6 leak?

In September 2022, around 90 videos from an early development build of Grand Theft Auto VI were leaked online. The roughly one hour of unfinished gameplay footage revealed not only early gameplay and dialogue, but also confirmed long before Rockstar's official announcement that GTA 6 would return to Vice City and feature two playable protagonists, Lucia and Jason. It remains one of the biggest leaks in video game history.

According to the BBC, the person responsible was Arion Kurtaj, then a 17-year-old British member of the internationally active hacking group Lapsus$. During court proceedings, Rockstar stated that the cyberattack caused approximately $5 million in damages. The company also said it had to spend thousands of staff hours investigating the incident and restoring its internal systems.

Rockstar hacked with a smartphone and a Fire TV Stick

What makes the incident particularly remarkable is the way Kurtaj carried out the attack. Because he had previously been arrested over earlier cyberattacks and was out on bail, authorities had placed him in a hotel without access to a computer. That did not stop him. Using a smartphone, an Amazon Fire TV Stick and the television in his hotel room, Kurtaj reportedly managed to gain access to Rockstar's internal communications.

Found unfit to stand trial due to severe autism

As The Guardian reported at the time, Kurtaj appeared before a UK court in 2023. However, the case never proceeded as a conventional criminal trial. Medical experts concluded that, because of his severe autism, he was unfit to stand trial. The court ordered his indefinite detention in a high-security psychiatric hospital, and until just a few days ago, it was widely assumed that he was still being held there.

Kurtaj has left the hospital

According to IGN, citing BBC journalist Joe Tidy, Arion Kurtaj is no longer being held in the psychiatric hospital. The information had been known for some time but could not be reported because of court-imposed restrictions. After a judge at the UK's High Court lifted those reporting restrictions on July 14, 2026, Tidy was finally able to confirm the transfer publicly.

Contrary to claims circulating on social media, the now approximately 21-year-old has not been released. Instead, he has been transferred from the psychiatric hospital to a regular prison. He has reportedly now been deemed fit to stand trial and is awaiting criminal proceedings in custody. Whether Kurtaj will regain his freedom before the release of GTA 6 (currently available for pre-order on Amazon) remains to be seen.