Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red left with sinister ransom note after massive cyber attack
Cyberpunk 2077. (CD Projekt Red)
CD Projekt Red, the games developer behind Cyberpunk 2077, has been hit by a targeted cyber attack compromising their internal systems, which they announced on Twitter.
In a Twitter statement sent out this morning, an unidentified actor gained unauthorised access to the developer’s internal network, collecting data from their Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher games, and leaving a ransom note.
Important Update pic.twitter.com/PCEuhAJosR
— CD PROJEKT RED (@CDPROJEKTRED) February 9, 2021
“Your have been EPICALLY pwned [sic],” reads the note, claiming to have dumped full copies of game source code and accessed company documents.
“We will not give in to the demands nor negotiate with the actor, being aware that this may eventually lead to the release of the compromised data,” says the developer’s response. “We are taking necessary steps to mitigate the consequences of such a release, in particular by approaching any parties that may be affected due to the breach.”
They also confirmed that the compromised systems did not contain personal data of players or users of their services.
This is just the latest controversy surrounding CD Projekt Red and Cyberpunk 2077 in what has become something of a real life dystopian nightmare. The developer has lost consumer trust after the game was released with game breaking bugs and near unplayable form on last gen consoles, though patches have since been released to address these issues.
Dear gamers,
Below, you’ll find CD PROJEKT’s co-founder’s personal explanation of what the days leading up to the launch of Cyberpunk 2077 looked like, sharing the studio’s perspective on what happened with the game on old-generation consoles. pic.twitter.com/XjdCKizewq— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) January 13, 2021
Headlines continued as the company steered players to Sony and Microsoft for refunds, only for Sony to remove the game from their PSN store.
What’s more, critics and players have criticised the game for its LGBT+ representation, in particular with regards to trans identity. Preview footage of the game included poster images that appeared to fetishise a trans woman with an enlarged penis – the poster remains present throughout the final game. The company has also been accused of making jokes at the expense of the trans community.
CD Projekt Red have contacted law enforcement and forensic IT specialists to investigate this latest incident.
