CD Projekt Red Issuing DMCA Takedowns To Keep A Lid On Hacked Source Code

Maker of The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red, is hitting Twitter users with Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedowns for sharing links to Gwent source code, according to a recent report by Vice.

Multiple Twitter users reported that their tweets, at least some of which linked to source code likely leaked in the CD Projekt Red data hack earlier this month, were removed following copyright claims made by the Polish game company. “Description of infringement: Illegally obtained source code of Gwent: The Witcher Card Game. Posted without authorisation, not intended to be released to the public,” read one of the DMCA takedown notices, a copy of which was obtained and reviewed by Vice.

The source code for Gwent is just one part of a seemingly much larger data breach. On February 9, CD Projekt Red announced that hackers stole data, ranging from source code for Cyberpunk 2077 to financial documents and personal employee info, and held it for ransom. After refusing to pay, some of the data was reportedly sold at auction. Around the same time, the source code for Gwent specifically appeared to start making the rounds online.

CD Projekt Red did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding issuing DMCA takedowns to try and halt the spread of the hacked info or generally about where its investigation into the cause of the breach and who was behind it currently stands.

DMCA takedowns have long been a go-to legal tool for companies looking to control their intellectual property and how it’s used. Nintendo is infamous for using them to block fan games and to remove soundtracks from YouTube. But they’ve also become increasingly prevalent on other platforms. Just this weekend, viewers streaming BlizzCon Online on Twitch were blocked via DMCA notices from hearing a live Metallica concert that was intended to be part of the event.

Video game companies have also occasionally used them to stop people from tweeting out screenshots or videos from their games. Just before Cyberpunk 2077’s release, CD Project Red used a DMCA notice to stop someone from sharing an image of the game’s Tā Moko tattoos as part of a critique of how they were used in-game.