It appears that hackers have stolen files from the upcoming open world Cyberpunk 2077 from the clutches of developer CD Projekt Red. The studio clarified the situation on Twitter, saying that the cyber-thieves will unleash these design documents on the internet if their demands of ransom are not met.

The Polish studio will not vanish without a fight, however. In a statement, Projekt Red made it clear they will not give in to the demands and will have the situation handled through the proper authorities. They added the files themselves are from earlier in development, and the world will see more of Cyberpunk 2077 when it’s ready.

Beyond the typical reporting of leaks, the situation involving Cyberpunk 2077‘s thievery is a criminal action. This is far from the first time internal files for a secretive game had been stolen from a studio. Looking back to 2003, Half-Life 2 was infamously leaked out of Valve, source code and all, by Germanic hacker Axel Gembe before the game’s 2004 launch. Projekt Red’s next game may be waiting to release for a long while, as its estimated release date is 2019.

Alex Irish
When he's not writing about games, Alex Irish is an illustrator and animation expert. His favorite gaming franchise is Pokémon, full-stop, but his favorite game of all time is Resident Evil 4. He attended the first-ever IGN House Party and is a five-time attendee of the Ottowa International Animation Festival.