After the Rockstar hackers leaked parts of the company’s data online, publisher Take-Two’s stock price is now skyrocketing. That’s because the data shows just how profitable the GTA franchise is.
He who laughs last laughs best. That’s probably what the executives at GTA publisher Take-Two Interactive are thinking right now. Becauseafter hackers tried to blackmail the company with stolen data last week,the gaming company is now actually benefiting from the hack.
The stolen data, which the hacker group ShinyHunters has since published online, demonstrates just how profitable GTA 5’s online mode remains, even more than 12 years after its launch. And since strong financial results are particularly pleasing to investors, publisher Take-Two’s stock price has surged by over 12 percent in recent days.
What exactly was leaked?
First things first: Sensitive data from the development ofGTA 6was not stolen in the attack. So anyone hoping to find new information about the upcoming Grand Theft Auto spin-off in the material will be disappointed. Instead, during their attack, the hackerswere able to access a limited amount of non-sensitive corporate data via a third-party provider
, according to developer Rockstar.
Since both Rockstar and its parent company Take-Two refused to pay the hackers a ransom to have the data deleted, the group has since published the stolen information online. It appears to be primarily financial data. According toKotaku, which has already analyzed the documents, the data primarily demonstrates the high profitability of Rockstar’s online games.
For example, GTA Onlinegenerates daily revenue of $1.3 millionprimarily thanks to in-game purchases— more than 12 years after its launch. The majority of revenue comes from PS5 players. Rockstar generates around $500 million annually from this online spin-off.
Take-Two Interactive saw its stock value rise by more than one billion dollars following a data leak from Rockstar Games.
Hackers stole internal data and demanded a ransom payment.
When no one paid, they released the information publicly for free.
Instead of hurting the… pic.twitter.com/BEJwl1eMoR
— Pirat_Nation (@Pirat_Nation) April 15, 2026
Red Dead Onlinemay not be able to keep up here, but it still brings in$26.4 millionto Rockstar’s coffers each year. No wonder Rockstar wants to keep the profitable online mode of GTA 5 running for a while even after the launch of GTA 6; after all, the game is a cash cow for the studio.
Such record revenues naturally please investors on the stock market as well, which is why the stock price of GTA publisher Take-Two Interactive has taken a significant jump upward since the leaked data was released. Since last Friday, the value of a single share has risen by around 17 euros and currently stands at 183.50 euros.
Ultimately, the company was able to benefit from the hack, becauseit strengthened investor confidence in Rockstar’s work.The hackers, on the other hand, came away empty-handed.
According to Rockstar, the hack has no impact on further developments or the release schedule for GTA 6. Since the hackers were unable to access any game data for the upcoming GTA, the studio is likely not even under pressure to release a new trailer soon. Some fans had already been hoping for this after the attack became known.
