Cyberpunk 2077 Devs Use DMCA to Stop Stolen Code Spread

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By Keith Mitchell
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DMCA takedowns filed against multiple Twitter users

Cyberpunk 2077 Screenshot
(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Only weeks ago, CD Projekt Red was the victim of a cyberattack that saw the source code for several of its titles stolen and eventually sold via an auction. The Polish developer is now looking to mitigate some of the damage by filing DMCA takedowns against anyone posting links to the stolen source code.

Last week, several Twitter users received notifications from a copyright monitoring company for providing links to torrents containing the source code. CD Projekt Red paid for exactly this sort of service, which apparently puts CDPR firmly into the big corp segment of CP77. This was first reported by Motherboard, which was able to gain access to a copy of the email sent to the Twitter users.

"Description of infringement: Illegally obtained source code of Gwent: The Witcher Card Game. Posted without authorisation, not intended to be released to the public," is what was stated in the DMCA takedown. 

In addition to those Twitter users, several others also had their tweets taken down, replaced with a reply from Twitter that stated: "has been withheld in response to a report from the copyright holder."

With the source code now in the hand/s of those who committed the cyberattack against CD Projekt Red, many had wondered how the company would attempt to protect its property. While the offenders have yet to be identified, there's little doubt that the company has been working with various agencies to investigate the situation further. And with the recent DMCAs, we now see that they're already policing popular locations such as Twitter.

However, DMCA takedowns aren't the only issue that CD Projekt Red is facing. We're five days away from the end of February 2021, and the developer has yet to make good on its promise to release a major update that many are hoping will address the performance of Cyberpunk 2077. With the title still missing on the PlayStation Store and Sony insisting they will not add it back until CD Projekt Red can assure that the game will run well on both the PS4/PS4 Pro and PS5, there's money sitting on the table. Things aren't much better on the Xbox One either, while the PC performance is hit or miss, depending on how beefy the PC running the game is.

These last few months have not been kind to CD Projekt Red, and we can only hope that it will be able to turn its string of bad luck around.

Keith Mitchell
Keith Mitchell

Keith Mitchell is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He is an IT professional during the day, and a passionate lover of video games and tech after his 9-5 grind. He has a weird affinity for Soulsborne games and plays them non-stop.

8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Phaaze88
    Shut down one back door, more pop up in it's place.

    If it's more convenient for people to pirate, people are gonna pirate. Not everyone, obviously, but still...
    Reply
  • JarredWaltonGPU
    Phaaze88 said:
    Shut down one back door, more pop up in it's place.

    If it's more convenient for people to pirate, people are gonna pirate. Not everyone, obviously, but still...
    Considering the game was already available on GOG without DRM (you could copy the files to a different PC and launch the game, without having GOG installed), this is not at all about piracy. Stealing a copy of a game is one thing, stealing the source code for the game, plus presumably all the other assets, is an entirely different level of theft. CDPR spent I believe over $100 million while making Cyberpunk 2077. This is theft of all that work, not the resulting product. If the perpetrators are found, or even the people who bought the source code, they warrant severe punishments. I wouldn't touch this with a 39.5 foot pole.
    Reply
  • Phaaze88
    JarredWaltonGPU said:
    Considering the game was already available on GOG without DRM (you could copy the files to a different PC and launch the game, without having GOG installed), this is not at all about piracy. Stealing a copy of a game is one thing, stealing the source code for the game, plus presumably all the other assets, is an entirely different level of theft. CDPR spent I believe over $100 million while making Cyberpunk 2077. This is theft of all that work, not the resulting product. If the perpetrators are found, or even the people who bought the source code, they warrant severe punishments. I wouldn't touch this with a 39.5 foot pole.
    Even if they shut down one perp, they've likely passed it down to some one else and so on... some can just lay low until things die down... it's done, their work is out there now.
    I don't believe the company deserved all this, but management did dig their own grave.

    Also, that's a very specific pole length...

    @TravisPNW
    I'm just going to wait for a 'legendary/golden' edition, or something. The feedback has just been all over the place with the PC version; it varies heavily on your hardware, OS and drivers, and in game settings... UGH.
    Reply
  • JarredWaltonGPU
    Phaaze88 said:
    Even if they shut down one perp, they've likely passed it down to some one else and so on... some can just lay low until things die down... it's done, their work is out there now.
    I don't believe the company deserved all this, but management did dig their own grave.

    Also, that's a very specific pole length...
    3Hj3U18FHgQView: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hj3U18FHgQ

    I'm not saying you can put the 'genie' back in the bottle, just that I, personally, wouldn't go anywhere near it -- not even for curiosity's sake.
    Reply
  • gggplaya
    Phaaze88 said:
    Even if they shut down one perp, they've likely passed it down to some one else and so on... some can just lay low until things die down... it's done, their work is out there now.
    I don't believe the company deserved all this, but management did dig their own grave.

    Also, that's a very specific pole length...

    @TravisPNWI'm just going to wait for a 'legendary/golden' edition, or something. The feedback has just been all over the place with the PC version; it varies heavily on your hardware, OS and drivers, and in game settings... UGH.


    Many of the issues were also overblown. If you have a decent PC with a Vega 64 or 1070 or better. The game is perfectly fine with a few hiccups here in there. I only had to redo 1 mission and had a few weird graphical glitches. But otherwise, it was fine on PC.
    Reply
  • warezme
    My V would launch a spreading cyberpsychosis quick hack on them and watch them kill each other.
    Reply
  • GenericUser
    gggplaya said:
    Many of the issues were also overblown. If you have a decent PC with a Vega 64 or 1070 or better. The game is perfectly fine with a few hiccups here in there. I only had to redo 1 mission and had a few weird graphical glitches. But otherwise, it was fine on PC.

    Consider yourself lucky. I had to give up after non-stop crashes every 10-30 minutes or so that would necessitate a hard reboot each and every time.

    I don't say that in trying to stop people from getting it either. Just that be aware you may or may not end up having issues with it like a lot of people are.
    Reply
  • gggplaya
    GenericUser said:
    Consider yourself lucky. I had to give up after non-stop crashes every 10-30 minutes or so that would necessitate a hard reboot each and every time.

    I don't say that in trying to stop people from getting it either. Just that be aware you may or may not end up having issues with it like a lot of people are.

    I played it with both my Vega 64 and 3060ti. I had I think 1 lockup for the whole game which required me to hold down the power button and restart my PC.
    Reply