In the wake of last week’s extensive leak of The Last of Us Part II, the debate has raged around who may have been behind it. Several reports have claimed that the information came from a disgruntled Naughty Dog employee. But according to a recent report, The Last of Us Part II Leaks leaks were done by hackers who got access to the servers of Naughty Dog.
The report came from the journalist Jason Schreier after he talked with two people with direct knowledge of the case. They say the hackers exploited a security hole in an older Naughty Dog game to get into the developer’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,” Schreier stated via his Twitter account.
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
Rumors that this was a protest from a consultant at Naughty Dog who didn’t get paid are not true. In fact, Naughty Dog has extended salary and health insurance for consultants because of COVID-19. “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),” says Schreier.
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)
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) May 3, 2020
The report is consistent with recent statements from Sony, the publisher of The Last of Us Part II. In a statement to Gamesindustry website, the company said it had identified the people behind the leak and that they have no connection to either Sony or Naughty Dog.
Just after the leak, Sony announced a new release date for The Last of Us Part II which is slated for June 19, 2020.