Insomniac, Wolverine Hackers Release 1.6TB Of Stolen Files, Unannounced Titles [Updated]

Files stolen during a ransomware attack on Insomniac Games earlier this month appear to have been uploaded online. The files seem to include numerous in-production assets from the studio’s upcoming Wolverine game among several other unannounced projects.

As noted by Cyberdaily, the files appear to be the same ones held for ransom by hacker group Rhysida. The group demanded 50 Bitcoin (roughly $320,000 AUD) or it would upload the stolen files within seven days. Though the group says it found a buyer for some of the files, the rest were uploaded online earlier this afternoon. The group claims that 98% of the stolen data has now been uploaded into the public square. The files reportedly total 1.67 terabytes in size, comprising over 1.3 million individual files.

Among these files is reportedly a bootable build of Wolverine, as well as numerous in-development assets including art, models, and other designs. Also found among the files, deals and proposals with Marvel on future titles that would steer the studio’s direction for the next decade. There is also a non-trivial amount of sensitive employee information, making this one of the most serious and significant doxxing events in internet history. Rhysida did not say whether HR information was among the 2% of the data it claims to have sold.

There are numerous indications that the Wolverine and other files are legitimate, including screenshots of a debug version of the game’s chapter select menu that display a build date from November this year. There’s even what appears to be a test render of the Wolverine teaser screened during the PlayStation Showcase in 2021.

Twitter is currently blanketed in purported images and video from the game, much of which is spoiler-dense. I won’t be sharing any of those materials here.

It’s a crappy situation for Insomniac, to say the least. The studio has just come off a high this year, launching the extremely well-received Spider-Man 2 and cementing its spot as the superhero developer to beat. In the same manner as the GTA VI leaks, it sucks to see so much good work that isn’t ready for consumption dumped online like this. Sure, you can point at Sony as a giant megacorp and have a chuckle at its expense, but I’m not worried about them. Sony will be fine, and the game will launch, and all of this will be forgotten.

I’m thinking about the artists who have had their work stolen by losers looking for a payday, all of it tossed callously into the public arena before it was even close to finished. The GTA VI leaks showed us how ready people are to tear materials like this to shreds. I wish more in-development assets like this could see the light of day — I think it’s important for people to understand how the video game sausage gets made — but only ever through official channels. Not like this. Never like this.

PlayStation and Insomniac are yet to confirm or deny the authenticity of the Wolverine files appearing online today. We’ll update this piece when and if they do.

Marvel’s Wolverine does not yet have a confirmed release date. It is bound for the PlayStation 5.

Update 9:39 PM AEDT, December 19, 2023: The scale of the uploads is becoming clear as people sift through the wreckage. Piece has been updated with new details.

Update 7:01PM AEDT, December 19 2023: A previous version of this piece referred to today’s uploads as leaks. Though my initial reflex was to call it such, I don’t feel this situation constitutes a leak at all, and I’m uncomfortable referring to it that way. This is theft and a punishment for refusing to bow to extortion. I’ve updated the language and the headline to reflect this. — David.