“Grand Theft Auto VI” recently suffered another leak of live content, and this time Cyberleek, the group claiming responsibility for the incident, seems to not just want to dump the game content online. The group released a long manifesto on its website, criticizing the game industry for its increasing reliance on Live Services, digital licensing, DLC, and various payment models, and even packaged this action as a protest against “anti-consumer” practices.
No more digital pre-orders
Cyberleek proposed three so-called “commandments”. The most direct one for “Grand Theft Auto VI” is to require game publishers to stop digital pre-orders. The group believes that players should not pay for games through digital stores before the game is officially launched or even before media reviews are released; pre-orders for physical versions are acceptable. To put it bluntly, their philosophy is “You want me to pay first, but at least let me see if the game is good or not.”
Deluxe edition paid content is also named!
Cyberleek also criticized the game for locking away content that is already in the game data and then unlocking it through a more expensive version. This may also be related to the current version strategy of “Grand Theft Auto VI”, because the Ultimate Edition of the game is US$20 more expensive than the standard version (approximately NT$640, HK$155, RM80) and includes additional missions, vehicles, costumes and other content. However, whether Cyberleek locked Rockstar because of these contents is still only speculation, and the group itself has not made it clear.
Players were just waiting for the Netflix show, but they watched The Hacker Manifesto first?
What’s even more embarrassing is that this leak happened just before Rockstar was about to release the new Extended Look of “Grand Theft Auto VI” through Netflix. Cyberleek claims that if game companies violate the rules they propose, they will be targeted and will not stop until the other party publicly apologizes and makes specific commitments. As for whether this “anti-pre-order revolution” will eventually change the gaming industry, no one knows yet, but Rockstar is probably not in the mood to appreciate this declaration.