Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Grand Theft Auto publisher Rockstar Games, has filed a petition with the US District Court in the Southern District of New York seeking subpoenas for data from Microsoft and Discord. The legal action, filed Thursday, aims to identify individuals who have been posting unauthorized GTA 6 content online. The requested data would come from Discord servers and a GitHub repository, which is owned by Microsoft, to help Take-Two determine who leaked gameplay footage and other copyrighted material.
The petition cites alleged violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, with Take-Two claiming the leaked material includes audiovisual content, artwork, images, dialogue, and other creative elements from the game. According to the filing, Take-Two has submitted a sworn declaration stating that the purpose of the subpoena is solely to identify alleged infringers and that the information will only be used to protect the company鈥檚 rights. The court filings list specific Discord account names and request a broad range of identifying data, including message logs, IP access logs, email addresses, phone numbers, connected accounts, linked services like Google and Xbox, backend metadata, telemetry, and device identifiers. For Microsoft, the request is limited to details from the GitHub repository that hosted GTA 6 leak information, though the filing does not specify whether it seeks data on that repository鈥檚 users. Both subpoenas request the information be produced by Sept. 4, and the filings are requests to the court clerk rather than court orders.
A Discord spokesperson said in an emailed statement Friday that the company will review and comply with valid subpoenas when received. The leaks began in mid-August when a group calling itself CyberLeek posted a short gameplay clip on social media. According to the GitHub repository, nine gameplay videos have since appeared on various video-sharing sites, showing one of the game鈥檚 protagonists, Jason, driving around town, stealing cars, and engaging in other activities, along with cutscenes and tutorials that do not appear in logical order.
The stakes for Take-Two are high because GTA 6 has been widely anticipated, and its November release date has caused other game publishers to schedule their launches either before that month or wait until February 2027 at the earliest. Official trailers have drawn millions of views, and Netflix secured exclusive access to a recent teaser ahead of its public release. The company has carefully controlled information about the game, which is why it is pursuing legal action against the leaker.
A clip posted Wednesday carried a message implying Rockstar would need to reverse its decision to make GTA 6 a digital-only game, as reported by IGN. Rockstar confirmed in June, when it revealed preorder details and pricing, that there would be no physical disc for the game. Retail stores will still sell a physical edition, but that version contains only a code for the game, not a disc. Rockstar has not commented on the threat.
GTA 6 is scheduled for release on Nov. 19 for the PS5 and Xbox Series X and S consoles. The Standard Edition will cost $80, and the Ultimate Edition will cost $100.
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