Cyberpunk 2077: Hackers claim to hold source code and documents at ransom after attack on CD Projekt Red

Company said it has 'already approached the relevant authorities' after falling victim to the attack

Hackers have threatened to leak the source code for Cyberpunk 2077 after enacting a targeted cyber attack on developers CD Projekt Red.

The company issued a statement on social media confirming the attack, and shared a screenshot of the hackers' ransom note.

Cyberpunk 2077, released last November, was the year's most widely hyped video game, but suffered a launch that was blighted by controversy as users complained of debilitating performance issues and glitches in the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game. CD Projekt Red have worked to ameliorate the technical issues through a series of ongoing updates.

Along with allegedly obtaining the code to Cyberpunk and CD Projekt's previous games, The Witcher 3 and Gwent, the hackers threatened to release "documents relating to accounting, administration, legal, HR, investor relations and more". Source code leaks can present risks of intellectual property theft and piracy.

In its statement, CD Projekt Red wrote: "An unidentified actor gained unauthorized access to our internal network, collected certain data belonging to CD PROJEKT capital group, and left a ransom note the contents of which we release to the public. Although some devices in our network have been encrypted, our backups remain intact.

"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."

The company added that it has "already approached the relevant authorities" such as law enforcement and the Personal Data Protection Office, as well as forensic IT specialists.