Hackers have stolen the source code for Electronic Arts (EA) games including FIFA21 and tools like the 'Frostbite' engine that powers titles such as the 'Battlefield' series.

The California-based video game company acknowledged the cybercrime on Thursday June 10, following a report from the news outlet A spokesperson for EA, however, has said that the attackers did not access any private player data and that the breach is unlikely to affect their business operations.

Source codes are the human-readable instructions that, when compiled, computers follow in order to run programs such as video games. 

The theft of the EA code could allow the hackers — or to whom they sell the code to — to find and exploit weaknesses in games using said code.

'We are investigating a recent incident of intrusion into our network where a limited amount of game source code and related tools were stolen,' an EA spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement.

'No player data was accessed and we have no reason to believe there is any risk to player privacy,' they continued.

'Following the incident, we've already made security improvements and do not expect an impact on our games or our business.'

EA also said that it was 'actively working with law enforcement officials and other experts as part of [an] ongoing criminal investigation.'

According to Vice, hackers have been boasting online about the attack via underground internet forums, with one post saying they 'have full capability of exploiting on all EA services.'

Furthermore, they reported, the hackers have been advertising the stolen software for sale across various dark market onion web forums.

'Anytime source code gets leaked, it's not good,' said cloud security architect Stuart Green of Isreal-based Check Point Software.

'With such precious information in their hands, hackers can easily see the inner workings of a game, exploit security gaps and even reverse-engineer games for malicious purposes,' he continued.

'These malicious activities can scale if hackers proceed to sell their theft.'

'Reports are out that the source code in the EA Games data leak is already being advertised on the darknet market, which is not surprising as hackers are usually quick to monetise what they steal.'

'Selling such proprietary information, dark web darknet market list like source code from EA Games, can net someone big money on the darknet market.'

The news follows a wave of high-profile cyberattacks in recent months. 

These have included several ransomware attacks on industrial firms and health care facilities — as well as and breaches of government and non-profit networks  which experts have attributed to espionage efforts.

The attack on EA comes as major video game makers are on the brink of participating in the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), which is running from June 12-15 this year and is being held virtually due to the pandemic.