Vice Gaming reports that hackers have broken into EA servers and made off with hundreds of gigabytes worth of proprietary data, including the source code for FIFA 21 and the Frostbite game engine. Electronic Arts has confirmed the breach while assuring no player data is at risk.
According to messages posted on various underground hacking forums, one of which can be viewed in cached form here, the data pirates came away from their visit to EA with 780 GB of data, including various SDKs (software development kits) for FIFA 21, 22, and “Many proprietary EA games frameworks & SDK.” The dump also includes the source for Dice’s Frostbite Engine, used to create games like FIFA and the upcoming Battlefield 2042, and API (advanced programming interface) keys from Xbox and Sony.
“We are investigating a recent incident of intrusion into our network where a limited amount of game source code and related tools were stolen,” an EA spokesperson told Vice of the incident. “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.”
Aside from a few pieces of data uploaded as proof of the acquisition, the hackers seem to have no plans to release the stolen data publicly. The various forum posts look to be attempting to sell the information, presumably for nefarious purposes, such as making their own FIFA game, maybe one without horrible microtransactions.