Two suspects. One sealed subpoena. A publisher that says its investigation is moving fast enough that going public could blow the whole thing.
Grand Theft Auto 6 has been at the center of one of gaming's most aggressive leak investigations, and Take-Two Interactive just made its most targeted legal move yet. The publisher has asked a federal court in New York to keep the details of its second Discord subpoena permanently sealed, arguing that public disclosure could tip off the very people it is trying to identify.
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Why Take-Two wants this one kept quiet
The key here is what changed between the first subpoena and this one. Take-Two's original Discord filing, submitted on August 20 in the Southern District of New York, was a broad sweep. It demanded MachineGuid and MSA device identifiers, registration and last-login IP addresses, phone numbers, linked Google and Xbox account connections, and OneDrive contents for every account that communicated in three named Discord servers since June 1. Cast a wide net, pull in everything.
The new filing, dated August 28, works differently. It is narrower, more surgical, and the company wants it kept completely out of the public record. In its motion, Take-Two told the court the sealed material "reveals highly sensitive, confidential information about an ongoing investigation into copyright infringement and the misappropriation of Take-Two's confidential information."
The company's argument for sealing it is straightforward: if suspects can read the filing, they know exactly what Take-Two has on them and can destroy or hide evidence before any action is taken. Take-Two's lawyers put it plainly in the filing, warning that tipped-off infringers could "destroy or conceal important evidence" if the subpoena's contents became public.
From thousands of accounts to two named users
The shift in scope is significant. Where the first subpoena swept across entire Discord communities, the new filing is focused on one previously identified user and one additional Discord user that Take-Two has since surfaced through its investigation. The company told the court its probe "is rapidly evolving and ongoing," which it used to explain why this second request differs from the first.
This is no longer a fishing expedition. Take-Two has apparently gathered enough information to point at specific accounts rather than entire server populations.
Discord has not yet formally responded to the subpoena. The platform's marketing director, Ryan Rigney, had previously said Discord would evaluate the validity and scope before responding once formally served with the original request. The court has not yet ruled on whether the new filing will remain permanently sealed, and the subpoena itself has not been formally issued.
The YouTube thread Take-Two dropped
While the Discord investigation is accelerating, Take-Two quietly withdrew its earlier DMCA subpoena against Google over YouTube. That filing had targeted three personas tied to leaked video content: CyberLeeks, Surfer24k, and CyberLeek_ar_io. Judge John P. Cronan declined to sign off on the request without more information on how those three personas connect to the leaked footage.
Rather than supply the additional detail, Take-Two pulled the request. The company's legal filing framed it as an investigation that is evolving rapidly as new information becomes available, suggesting the YouTube angle may have simply become less useful as the Discord leads sharpened. Take-Two reserved the right to return to Google with a new subpoena later, so that thread is paused, not closed.
What this means for the game's November window
The leak saga kicked off roughly two weeks before this latest filing, when clips attributed to the CyberLeek persona started circulating online. The timing was pointed: the leaks arrived just ahead of Rockstar's own Netflix-exclusive extended gameplay preview, with the game's scheduled November launch on the horizon.
For players who have been following every frame of official and leaked footage, the practical takeaway is that Rockstar and Take-Two are not treating this as a minor nuisance. The legal infrastructure being built here, spanning DMCA subpoenas against Discord and Microsoft, a withdrawn YouTube demand, and now a sealed targeted filing, reflects a publisher that views the leak as a serious threat to a major release.
The investigation is still live, the court has yet to rule on sealing, and Take-Two has explicitly left the door open for further subpoenas. If you want to stay across everything confirmed for the game itself while the legal story develops, the GTA 6 pre-order guide has the latest on platforms, dates, and how to lock in your copy ahead of launch.
