FIFA source code stolen by hackers and put up for sale

While EA should unveil the new features of FIFA 22 at its conference on July 22, hackers have stolen the FIFA code and now want to put it on sale. Indeed, the FIFA source code was stolen by a group of hackers earlier in the week, recovering up to 780 GB of data. What impacts for the development of FIFA 22?

FIFA source code has been stolen

Using a relatively simple technique and tricking EA's support service, a team of hackers managed to steal 780gb of data concerning the FIFA source code. This group published some information coming to confirm this action, in particular taking screenshots of the database.

Note that this theft does not affect users, passwords or banking information stored by EA. The stolen elements are in particular tools and codes allowing the development of FIFA and its graphics engine.

Also, the hacker group is currently selling the hacked code, for a deferred amount of $28 million.

What impacts for FIFA 22?

Is the development of FIFA 22 threatened? A priori no, because even if the code is shared on the internet (or sold), it seems unlikely that this will have an impact on the development of the game. Nevertheless, some problems could resurface from this hacking.

First of all, some news could be leaks a few weeks before the presentation of FIFA 22. This is not too handicapping for EA but it is always important to create enthusiasm for such a game in a controlled way and not via leaks.

But the most important point is the different supposed FIFA scripts. Players often mention scripts, lines of code, allowing the rules of the game to be changed. Thus, EA would use scripts to modify the gaming experience of users: for example, a script changing the drop rate of packs, allowing a player who has taken a break, to obtain an excellent card on his return to re-motivate him to play.

If hackers discover and prove the existence of such scripts, the FIFA community would certainly ask EA for more explanations… While the situation around loot boxes is already complicated in the West, such a case could pose some problems for the group.

Thus, the theft of FIFA 22 source code by hackers could harm EA, well beyond its reputation for security. However, it is unlikely that the competition will really benefit from this event...