Game On: ‘GTA’ developer Rockstar confirms, downplays cyberattack

“Game On” is The Fly’s weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks.

NEW RELEASES: Among this week’s new releases is Capcom’s (CCOEY) new action shooter “Pragmata,” which launches April 17 for PC, Nintendo Switch 2 (NTDOY), PlayStation 5 (SONY), and Xbox Series X/S (MSFT). Also out this week is Nintendo’s lifestyle simulator “Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream,” which launches for Nintendo Switch on April 16.

ROCKSTAR HACK: Over the weekend, Take-Two’s (TTWO) Rockstar Games, developer of the “Grand Theft Auto” franchise, confirmed it was targeted by hackers for the second time in three years, BBC’s Liv McMahon and Joe Tidy reported. The hackers who claimed responsibility for the breach said they gained access to Rockstar servers managed by a third-party cloud provider and threatened to publish stolen material online unless the company paid a ransom, the authors said, noting that Rockstar downplayed the attack, saying “this incident has no impact on our organisation or our players.” “We can confirm that a limited amount of non-material company information was accessed in connection with a third-party data breach,” a Rockstar Games spokesperson said.

GAME PASS: Asha Sharma, the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming, has suggested that Xbox Game Pass pricing will soon change, as she said in an internal memo to Xbox employees that “Game Pass has become too expensive for players” and that the company needs “a better value equation,” The Verge’s Tom Warren reported. “Game Pass is central to gaming value on Xbox. It’s also clear that the current model isn’t the final one,” Sharma said in the memo. “Short term, Game Pass has become too expensive for players, so we need a better value equation. Long term, we will evolve Game Pass into a more flexible system which will take time to test and learn around.” The Xbox maker increased the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $29.99 per month last year, marking a 50% raise, the author noted.

EPIC/DISNEY: Following a number of splashy games and features that didn’t live up to internal expectations, “Fortnite” maker Epic Games is working on a so-called extraction shooter in partnership with Disney (DIS), a shareholder in the company, which will include notable Disney characters and is on track to launch in November of this year, Bloomberg’s Cecilia D’Anastasio reported late last week, citing four current and former Epic employees. So far, internal reviewers have expressed concerns that the gameplay isn’t especially original, but some of the staff are optimistic that Epic will get it right by the release date, the author noted. Epic’s investment deal with Disney will reap at least two more titles, the author notes. Other investors in Epic include Tencent (TCEHY), KKR (KKR), and Sony.

ROBLOX PLUS: Roblox (RBLX) announced Roblox Plus, a new subscription plan designed to deliver more value to its users. Available globally starting April 30, for $4.99 per month, Roblox Plus offers discounts on purchases of in-game and avatar items as well as exclusive platform benefits. Roblox will cover these discounts, so that creators continue to make the same amount per item and can earn even more, as subscribers have the ability to spread the same number of Robux across more purchases. Roblox Plus will also benefit creators directly through expanded monetization opportunities.

MORE VIDEO GAME NEWS:

• Roblox introduced new age-based accounts and expanded parental controls
• Take-Two’s Zynga launched a limited-time test of “Borderlands Mobile” last week, Gematsu reports
• TD Cowen cut its price target on Nintendo to 10,900 yen from 14,900 yen, noting management resetting expectations for 2027 due to rising memory prices