Insomniac Games Hacked: Confidential Data Leaked and Ransom Demanded

According to Decrypt, cyberattackers hacked into Sony game studio Insomniac Games and demanded a ransom of 50 Bitcoin ($2 million at the time) to prevent the leak of over a terabyte of confidential data. Despite the ransom demand, only 2% of the leaked data was sold, and the remaining 98% was published, according to a report from CyberDaily. The leaked data includes files from the studio's Spider-Man 2 game, a three-game X-Men contract between Sony and Marvel signed in 2021, and personal employee documents such as I-9 forms and passport scans. The Wolverine game, part of the leaked contract, is currently expected to release in 2026. Other planned games revealed in the leak include Venom, Spider-Man 3, a new Ratchet & Clank game, and an X-Men game. Leaked Wolverine game footage shows a third-person point of view and various gameplay features. The Venom game, according to the leaks, will be set in a timeline between Spider-Man 2 and 3 and offer an 8-10 hour gameplay experience with 12 missions and three boss fights. The leaks also state that Sony, through Insomniac, has a budget of $120 million for each game and expects to make millions in net profits from each title. The hacker group Rhysida claimed responsibility for the ransom attack and subsequent leak, stating that money was their only motivation and that developers making games like this would be an easy target. The hackers claimed that it took them only 20-25 minutes to breach Sony's system to obtain the Insomniac data. Sony has not responded to Decrypt's requests for comment.