GTA VI hacker suspect arrested in Amsterdam; police investigate alleged orders for two killings

A 24-year-old man arrested in Amsterdam over suspected links to hacking group ShinyHunters is now at the centre of a case stretching far beyond stolen data and corporate security breaches. Dutch police arrested the man during an investigation into ShinyHunters, a group linked with a string of high-profile cyberattacks. Investigators seized several storage devices during the arrest, including a laptop. Material found on this computer has since opened a separate investigation involving two alleged murder orders outside the Netherlands. It’s an unusual development in a case already connected with Rockstar Games, GTA Online and a wider series of attacks on major companies. No court has ruled on the suspect’s involvement in either part of the investigation. His suspected role in ShinyHunters remains under examination, and the murder-related accusations are still allegations.

Police are examining seized devices

Dutch investigators suspect the arrested man of taking part in a criminal organisation linked with ShinyHunters. Authorities in the US have connected him with a senior role in the group, though his precise involvement in individual attacks hasn’t been established in court.

A Rotterdam court has ordered his continued detention for another 90 days, giving investigators more time to examine the seized devices and other evidence. The laptop appears to be a major part of the investigation. Police say information discovered on it relates to plans for two killings outside the Netherlands. Investigators are treating this as a separate case involving suspected solicitation of murder.

There’s no public confirmation of either killing taking place, nor evidence released publicly showing how developed any alleged plans became. For now, police are examining what was found and trying to establish who was involved. It moves the story far beyond a typical hacking arrest.

Rockstar Games appears in the wider ShinyHunters case

For PC and console players, the Rockstar connection will probably be the most familiar part. ShinyHunters has previously claimed responsibility for a security breach involving Rockstar Games. The incident reportedly exposed internal business information, including financial data linked with GTA Online.

Rockstar said the breach didn’t cause a meaningful interruption to its operations or affect players. This incident is separate from the huge GTA VI leak from 2022.

Those two cases are easy to mix up, especially since both involve Rockstar, stolen information and Grand Theft Auto. They’re connected to different investigations, different suspected groups and different periods. The more recent Rockstar incident forms one part of the wider investigation into ShinyHunters.

This isn’t the GTA VI leak from 2022

Rockstar’s 2022 breach was a very different case. More than 90 clips from an unfinished version of GTA VI appeared online, exposing development footage years before release. The material spread across social media and gaming sites within hours, making it one of the biggest leaks in modern games development.

The attack was linked with Lapsus$, another cybercrime group. The Amsterdam arrest doesn’t concern this incident. ShinyHunters has been associated with a separate Rockstar security breach from 2026, centred on corporate information rather than a huge dump of GTA VI development footage.

Keeping these incidents separate matters. Rockstar has faced several leaks and security incidents over recent years, yet each one has its own circumstances. A piece of unreleased GTA material appearing online doesn’t automatically point to a fresh intrusion into Rockstar’s systems.

ShinyHunters disputes the suspect’s involvement

One detail makes the case less straightforward. ShinyHunters has denied the arrested man belongs to the group.- Investigators now need to establish any connection through seized data, communications and other evidence. Police are continuing to analyse storage devices recovered during the arrest, with further arrests still possible as the investigation develops.

For Rockstar, GTA VI itself hasn’t become part of the criminal case in any new sense. There’s no indication of a fresh GTA VI breach tied to the Amsterdam arrest. Instead, Rockstar sits inside a much bigger investigation into alleged cybercrime activity involving multiple organisations.

The most serious new development comes from the laptop seized in Amsterdam. What began as an investigation into hacking and data theft has expanded into an examination of two alleged murder orders. Those accusations have yet to be tested in court. For now, investigators have two very different questions in front of them: what role, if any, the suspect played in ShinyHunters, and what exactly the material discovered on his computer means.