The Stop Killing Games (SKG) campaign has publicly distanced itself from the recent alleged Grand Theft Auto VI leak, condemning the actions of the hackers who claimed their motivations were to oppose anti-consumer practices by publishers. The leaked footage, which appeared online yesterday, was met with widespread DMCA takedowns, and the group behind it, identifying as Cyberleek, published a manifesto outlining grievances against practices such as digital preorders and gated single-player DLC. Cyberleek also called for single-player games to have an offline fallback state.
While Cyberleek's manifesto touched upon issues similar to those SKG advocates for through legislative means, the campaign stressed that resorting to illegal actions is unacceptable. "Do not send these people your money, no matter how much sympathy you may feel for their actions," SKG stated on social media. "This is illegal, and frankly, we feel for everyone at Rockstar having to go through this ordeal again." The group emphasized that such acts are destructive and risk damaging the reputation of gaming communities and their efforts to enact change.
SKG drew a parallel to a previous GTA 6 hack in 2022, noting that the individual responsible faced severe legal consequences, including an indefinite hospital order. "This isn’t a cause worth risking your money or your future on," the statement continued. The campaign argued that even if the hackers' stated pro-consumer ideals were genuine, threatening publishers through illegal means is unlikely to achieve their goals and ultimately benefits no one, likely only leading to legal action and increased stress for developers.
In an effort to support genuine change, SKG suggested channeling frustration into constructive actions. The statement directed supporters toward purchasing IWGB union merchandise to aid in the legal battle of Rockstar employees who were terminated last year. The union has accused Rockstar of union busting, while the company has stated the firings were due to the leak of "confidential information."