Insomniac says it’s ‘saddened and angered’ by massive leak of 1.3 million files

Insomniac Games has weighed in publicly for the first time since hackers leaked over 1.3 million of the publisher’s private files. The studio posted on X (Twitter) that it’s “saddened and angered” by the cyberattack, describing the internal aftermath as “extremely distressing.” Insomniac indirectly alluded to the publication of gameplay footage from an upcoming Wolverine game, assuring fans that “Marvel’s Wolverine continues as planned.”

The publisher began by thanking supportive fans, many of whom rallied around the hacking victim in the thread’s comments, before relaying the burden the cyberattack inflicted on its employees. “We’re both saddened and angered about the recent criminal cyberattack on our studio and the emotional toll it’s taken on our dev team,” the studio wrote. “We have focused inwardly for the last several days to support each other.”

Insomniac acknowledged some of the stolen content currently making the rounds on social media and the dark web. “We are aware that the stolen data includes personal information belonging to our employees, former employees, and independent contractors,” it posted. “It also includes early development details about Marvel’s Wolverine for PlayStation 5. We continue working quickly to determine what data was impacted.”

The Rhysida ransomware group took credit for the attack, claiming to have infiltrated Insomniac within 20 to 25 minutes, according to the group’s statement to cyberdaily.au. The hackers threatened to publish the stolen content if Insomniac, Sony or anyone else refused to pay its $2 million ransom. The group suggested that some data was sold, and the public dump allegedly comprised 98 percent of the complete set.

In addition to the Wolverine gameplay, the leak included files from Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, internal HR documents (including I-9 employment forms and termination docs), screenshots from Insomniac’s Slack channels and the contents of several employees’ PCs.

“This experience has been extremely distressing for us,” Insomniac wrote. “We want everyone to enjoy the games we develop as intended and as our players deserve.”

Insomniac alluded to its leaked protagonist to signal durability. “Like Logan...Insomniac is resilient,” the publisher posted. “Marvel’s Wolverine continues as planned. The game is in early production and will no doubt greatly evolve throughout development, as do all our plans.”