Last week, Naughty Dog suffered a massive leak of the forthcoming The Last Of Us Part II. In what has undoubtedly been a turbulent beginning to 2020 for the developers, they’ve also suffered through two delays.
The story rumbles on, as earlier on in the week, Sony confirmed they had identified those responsible for the leak. Their statement explained that the leakers were not affiliated to Naughty Dog or Sony Interactive.
Now, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has weighed in. He reported that after speaking to people “with direct knowledge” of the leak, a back door security vulnerability left the servers wide open to the responsible party.
In a short message on Twitter, Schreier said: “OK: After talking to two people with direct knowledge of how TLOU2 leaked as well as some Naughty Dog employees, I have a good idea of what happened,”
He simplified: “Short version: hackers found a security vulnerability in a patch for an older ND game and used it to get access to ND’s servers.”
OK: After talking to two people with direct knowledge of how TLOU2 leaked as well as some Naughty Dog employees, I have a good idea of what happened. Short version: hackers found a security vulnerability in a patch for an older ND game and used it to get access to ND’s servers.
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) May 3, 2020
“I think the footage that leaked is from devs playing an early build (I haven’t watched it). Most importantly, rumors of this being an act of protest by a contractor whose pay was robbed are not true. (ND actually extended pay and healthcare benefits for contractors due to covid).”
The leak led to the exposure of level lists, cut scenes and crucial gameplay footage from The Last Of Us Part II. Sony has pulled the original content down from Reddit and YouTube, but the leaks still remain online, having been reposted.
Naughty Dog released a statement on Twitter. They said: “We know the last few days have been incredibly difficult for you. We feel the same. It’s disappointing to see the release and sharing of pre-release footage from development.”
They added: “Do your best to avoid spoilers and we ask that you don’t spoil it for others. The Last of Us Part 2 will be in your hands soon. No matter what you see and hear, the final experience will be worth it.”
The Last Of Us Part II is due out on June 19, and will be available exclusively for PlayStation 4.
