Hackers steal source code to Electronic Arts' FIFA 21 video game

Image / EA

Video game giant Electronic Arts said overnight that hackers stole source code on its best-selling "FIFA 21" title.

The maker and publisher of popular franchises such as FIFA, The Sims and Madden NFL said player data wasn't accessed.

"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 company spokeswoman said in a statement.

"No player data was accessed, and we have no reason to believe there is any risk to player privacy."

The statement followed a Vice report of the hack, which said the cyber attackers had stolen the source code and "related internal tools."

Vice's tech arm, "Motherboard" said it had screenshots from posts on private forums, where the hackers also said they have obtained source code and tools for the Frostbite engine, which powers a number of EA games including Battlefield.

Other stolen information includes proprietary EA frameworks and software development kits (SDKs), bundles of code that can make game development more streamlined. In all, the hackers say they have 780 gigabytes of data, and are advertising it for sale in various underground hacking forum posts viewed by Vice.

EA confirmed to Vice's Motherboard that it had suffered a data breach and that the information listed by the hackers was the data that was stolen.

An EA spokesperson said, "We are investigating a recent incident of intrusion into our network where a limited amount of game source code and related tools were stolen.

"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."