Happy Saturday, everyone! Welcome to Bonus Round, a look at some of the week’s biggest gaming stories. A hacker leaked early development footage of Grand Theft Auto VI a mere 24 hours after I published last week’s column, which is quite selfish of them if you ask me. Still, there have been developments on that story this week, as well as some other tidbits. Let’s get into it!
Alleged GTA VI hacker arrested
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably aware that over 90 video clips of Grand Theft Auto VI leaked last weekend. A user named teapotuberhackerhacker posted the early development footage on GTAForums, with the videos quickly going viral. Kotaku has a great rundown of the details that the clips revealed, but in the meantime, it seems that the authorities may have already identified the culprit.
City of London Police announced that they arrested a 17-year-old male on Thursday 22 September on suspicion of hacking. Tech journalist Matthew Keys later claimed that the arrest was indeed connected to the GTA hack, citing a source close to the matter. Not only that, but it’s possible that he was responsible for the hack that Uber recently suffered, too.
If this 17-year-old is indeed the mastermind behind the leak, I hope that this doesn’t completely destroy his future. He’ll be punished in some fashion, of course, but he’s ultimately just a kid with his whole life ahead of him and doesn’t deserve to have this hang over him forever. Honestly, if I were a cybersecurity firm or even an intelligence service, I’d be looking at him with great interest. This teen clearly has a lot of talent that could easily be put to better use.
As for GTA VI, I do feel for Rockstar. I’ve worked on many creative projects in my time, and I’d have been mortified if people had seen them before they were ready. Still, though, by the time the game is released, all of this will be a distant memory. I don’t think it’s hyperbolic to say that GTA VI is the most hotly anticipated game of all time. After all it’s a sequel to the most successful entertainment product ever. GTA VI will comfortably sell a gazillion copies, and this messiness will be forgotten.
New Iron Man game announced
We’ve been getting a glut of Marvel games lately. Between Spider-Man, Marvel’s Avengers, Midnight Sons, and the upcoming Captain America/Black Panther game, there are plenty of opportunities for gamers to get their superhero fix. That list grew this week, with news that EA and Motive Studio are working on a new Iron Man game.
By their admission, the game is in the very early stages of development, so we don’t have many more details. All we really know is that the game will feature “an original narrative that taps into the rich history of Iron Man, channeling the complexity, charisma, and creative genius of Tony Stark, and enabling players to feel what it’s like to truly play as Iron Man”. This game is likely years away, so it might be a while before we get any more information than that.
The team is being led by Olivier Proulx, who worked on Guardians of the Galaxy, a game I enjoyed very much. Motive Studios have experience with aerial combat too, having previously developed Star Wars: Squadrons. Iron Man is a character whose abilities lend themselves very well to a game, so this is definitely one to watch.
Ted Lasso comes to FIFA
I have absolutely no interest in football whatsoever, and even I was taken by Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Released during the height of the pandemic, Ted Lasso‘s gentle comedy was a soothing balm for the insanity of the real world. Now, Jason Sudeikis’ beloved folksy character is making the jump to video games.
EA Sports announced this week that Ted will be a playable manger in FIFA 23‘s career mode. Fictional team AFC Richmond and its home stadium Nelson Road will also feature in the game. For those wondering, yes, that means that fan favourite character Roy Kent will be playable.
I’ve only ever played FIFA under duress when hanging out with manlier friends, so this alone probably won’t be enough to get me to pick up FIFA 23. Still, this is going to delight fans of both the show and the game, and should tide them over nicely until the third season of Ted Lasso.