Insomniac has fallen victim to a severe hack that Sony is currently investigating. Allegedly, the criminals have stolen crucial information regarding future games the studio plans to release in the upcoming years. They are demanding a ransom of 2 million dollars to be transferred in bitcoins if Sony wishes to maintain the confidentiality of the ongoing projects at Insomniac.
This attack could potentially disrupt the company’s marketing plans, but it also puts at risk a plethora of other data, including private information of employees and individuals involved in the developments of Insomniac Games’ projects. It’s a problematic situation that extends beyond harming Insomniac as a part of Sony.
A ransomware attack
Insomniac’s data breach is attributed to a recent ransomware attack the company suffered, as reported by the Anglo-Saxon version of Eurogamer. This attack, claimed by the group Rhysida, supposedly exposed millions of data, documents, and information about their games, including the upcoming release, Marvel’s Wolverine.
This game, first showcased in 2021 long before the release of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which hit the shelves last October, was presented as the next collaborative endeavor between Insomniac and Marvel. Unfortunately for the company, the group behind the data theft might have access not only to crucial information about Marvel’s Wolverine, such as its release date or undisclosed characters but also personal data of employees from previous projects, like the passport of the English voice actor for Peter Parker.
One of many attacks in the industry
Unfortunately, this is an increasingly recurring situation in the video game industry, where anticipation and marketing play a significant role in a game’s success. However, it can also be a double-edged sword because the more anticipation there is, the easier it becomes for a company to suffer an attack aimed at leaking their content.
Yet, not all leaks are caused by hackers. Many times, leaks happen due to insufficient control on the part of developers, as was the case with the GTA VI trailer, which was forced to be officially released following constant leaks surrounding the highly anticipated game from Rockstar. However, despite not being the company’s original plan, the video quickly broke viewing records on YouTube.
