Insomniac: Spider-Man 2 PlayStation studio victim of huge hack

The videogame studio behind Spider-Man 2 has been the victim of a huge hack in a ransomware attack.

Last week, hackers demanded $2m from Sony-owned Insomniac, which developed the PlayStation 5 superhero hit, to keep stolen information private.

Since then, details of future releases and work-in-progress footage showing the company’s upcoming Wolverine game have appeared online.

BBC Newsbeat has approached Sony for comment.

A listing for the leak, seen by the BBC, suggests it includes private employee data and internal company emails.

Fellow games developers, journalists and fans were quick to condemn the attack, urging others not to share or republish any of the content.

Alan Wake 2 developer Remedy Games wrote on X to offer its sympathies to “all the affected team members”.

They wrote: “After all the effort and dedication they have poured into their games, they didn’t deserve this.

“No-one does. The hackers also leaked employee’s personal information, which is truly disgraceful and shameful.”

Insomniac has released few official details of the Wolverine game beyond a teaser trailer in 2021 and confirmation it would have a “mature” tone compared with the Spider-Man games.

Ransomware group Rhysida has claimed responsibility, and it also said it was behind a similar attack on the British Library last month.

The method uses malicious software to infect a company’s computer network and lock its files, demanding payment for them to be restored.

It’s the latest leak from a high-profile games studio, after details of Rockstar Games’ upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6 appeared online last year.

That attack was committed by a different group, which also hacked Uber and graphics card maker Nvidia.

When the case appeared in a UK court, it emerged that an 18-year-old member had released the clips while he was on bail in a Travelodge hotel. – bbc.com