Many players are aware of the recent news of Rockstar GTA 6 Leak where the hacker is blackmailing the company. The hacker claims that he has access to both GTA 5 & GTA 6 source codes. But what are these codes and how would this affect the video game industry? For normal gamers, Source Code has been a conversation topic back when a somewhat similar incident was faced by CD Projekt Red.
CD Projekt Red lost source code for Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3, and Gwent to hackers. Since then, source codes of these games are being circulated through the internet. Fans of the Grand Theft Auto series fear the same for Rockstar, and how this will affect the future. So to understand what’s at stake here’s all about what is Source Code in a video game.
What is Source Code in a Video Game (Rockstar GTA 6 Leak)?
Source code in video games is the building block of the game engine. For reference, Rockstar uses its proprietary game engine called RAGE for its mainstream games. RAGE has been used for major games like GTA 4, RDR, Max Payne 3, GTA 5, RDR2 & presumably GTA 6. Here the Source code will be basic rules and regulations of the world written by programmers. They set rules for the computer, telling it how to execute the game instructions. They are usually lines of code in a text file format, easy to understand, and changed by a human.
There are estimates that GTA 5 has between 50 and 120 million lines of code (or maybe a lot more). A user may learn how a game handles different events, such as input, damage, and weapon change, by looking at the source code for that game. Source Code establishes guidelines for the computer to follow, such as moving the character ahead when a certain key is pushed. Typically, source code is compiled before being executed.
Because the executable is generated, you can’t get the primary source code of a video game from it. That entails converting the code into assembly language or machine language, which is difficult for a person to comprehend but considerably faster and simpler for the computer to understand. After being compiled, the code becomes a huge jumble of interconnected assembly or machine code. Because of this, you are unable to utilize any of the original code in your own creations unless it is available as open source or from the developers themselves.
Why Are Video Game Source Code Leaks Such a Big Deal?
It is the main backbone on which the game is written, and anybody with access to it may examine how the game functions. Once a video game source code leaks, what many hackers can do is almost limitless. They may create undetectable cheats. Additionally, if the game is an online one like Grand Theft Auto Online, hackers may simply create cheats like unlimited money, or no damage directly in the source code in one way or another, ruining the experience for everyone else. They are able to create new applications and add the source code for them. The game may be distributed for free by hackers, and each time it is played, orders to install a chosen virus might be launched.
The expense of creating games is really high. For GTA 5, unofficial analyst estimates place the price tag at 137 million US dollars. RDR2’s development cost was more than GTA 5, making many believe devs will follow this pattern and make GTA 6 one of the most expensive games ever. A firm like Rockstar that can create such a massive game like GTA 6 will suffer financial losses and could possibly not be able to continue creating the games that people like. Therefore, if the source code is compromised, it will be really bad for the company. If the catastrophe is severe enough, it may restrict or even stop the company from developing new GTA games in the future. But thankfully, Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two Interactive Software has confirmed that even though the video leaks of GTA 6 are true, the game development will be unaffected and they will present the game to the fans once it is ready.
Even though CD Projekt’s source code for Gwent, The Witcher 3, and Cyberpunk 2077 are being shared online via social media, they stood strong fought against it. CD Projekt is also successfully working on new updates & DLCs for Cyberpunk 2077. And as per Steam Charts, Cyberpunk 2077 got a +80.50% gain on average players, with 85,555 peak players. So let’s hope everything turns out well for the GTA series in the future.
That’s all about what is Source Code in a video game. While you are here, make sure to check out everything about the reasons why GTA VI is taking so long to make and release.
