Hackers steal source code to ‘FIFA 2021’ and Frostbite engine from EA

Electronic Arts, the publisher of the Battlefield series and many other popular video game franchises, has been hacked. On multiple underground hacking forums, Motherboard found hackers claiming they had taken more than 780GB of data from the company. According to screenshots seen by the outlet, the trove includes the source code for FIFA 2021 and both the source code and tools for EA’s proprietary Frostbite game engine. Some of the other assets the hackers claim they took from the company include several software development kits. Those responsible are trying to sell the assets.

EA confirmed to Motherboard it was the victim of a data breach and that the data the publication saw online was what was stolen from it. “We are investigating a recent incident of intrusion into our network where a limited amount of game source code and related tools were stolen,” a spokesperson for the company told the outlet. “No player data was accessed, and we have no reason to believe there is any risk to player privacy. Following the incident, we’ve already made security improvements and do not expect an impact on our games or our business. We are actively working with law enforcement officials and other experts as part of this ongoing criminal investigation.”

We’ve reached out to EA for additional information.

EA isn’t the only video game publisher to get hacked this year. Following the buggy launch of Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red was hit by a ransomware attack. In that case, the hackers obtained and eventually sold the source code to the studio’s latest game. CD Projekt Red also blamed the hack for the delay in getting Cyberpunk’s 1.2 patch out. For now it appears EA is confident it won’t be affected in the same way.