Discord Confirms No Subpoena Received Regarding GTA 6 Leaks, Promises to Assess Validity Before Taking Action

On August 20, Take-Two, the parent company of Rockstar Games, filed petitions for subpoenas from Microsoft and Discord concerning the recent leaks surrounding Grand Theft Auto 6. A federal court approved these requests the following day, but some users expressed concerns about the extensive nature of the data being sought. Discord has since stated that it has not yet received any subpoena from Take-Two and will assess any future requests before taking action.

Ryan Rigney, Discord’s marketing director, provided an update on August 24, stating, “Discord has not yet been served with a subpoena from Take-Two. When we do, we’ll evaluate the validity and scope before responding.” This statement came in response to a viral post raising alarms that Take-Two might be pursuing data from users far beyond those directly linked to the original data breach. It remains uncertain whether Take-Two is following up on solid leads or simply casting a wide net as new GTA 6 leaks continue to emerge online.

The subpoena requests include “registration and last-login IP addresses, phone numbers, linked connections (Google/Xbox/etc.)” and related information for potentially thousands of users across the discord.gg/odyssey and discord.gg/darkviperau servers. The court petition indicated a possible deadline of September 4 for Microsoft and Discord to provide the requested information, with Microsoft already indicating its readiness to assist.

Xbox CTO Scott Van Vliet mentioned last week, “We are working closely with Take-Two and Rockstar Games to support efforts to protect creative works and intellectual property.” Given that GTA 6 is anticipated to be one of the biggest releases on Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft has a strong incentive to maintain a solid partnership with Take-Two and its subsidiaries. In contrast, Discord is a communication platform that aims to keep its users’ data private.

Discord’s popularity among gamers has made it a prime location for sharing leaks, leading to frequent subpoena requests from frustrated game companies. The platform has occasionally resisted requests it deems too broad. One of Discord’s lawyers previously stated, “Discord is committed to fulfilling its obligations under the law, but acting as your copyright assertion partner is not one of them,” in response to a legal dispute with a publisher.

However, Discord has also taken action against servers accused of facilitating video game piracy, such as those for Switch emulators. Co-founder Jason Citron noted in 2024, “From time to time, we do get DMCA requests. Or sometimes we get court orders and we have to interact with law enforcement. So we do have a process in place to respond to those things effectively.”