Are you such a video game fanatic that you simply can ’ t wait to get your paws on sneak previews of upcoming hit titles ? If so , your fervour may be fuelling the criminal activities of an unnamed group of who have targeted a developer of highly popular video games . Best known for developing The Witcher series of role-playing video games , CD Projekt Red took to Twitter to announce that it had been approached by extortionists who claimed to have stolen Attack.Databreach files from the company , including “ documents connected to early designs for the upcoming game , Cyberpunk 2077. ” CD Projekt Red says it will not pay the ransom being demanded Attack.Ransom by the thieves , who are threatening to release the stolen files to the general public : “ We will not be giving in to the demands Attack.Ransom of the individual or individuals that have contacted us , which might eventually lead to the files being published online . The appropriate legal authorities will be informed about the situation. ” “ The documents are old and largely unrepresentative of the current vision for the game . Still , if you ’ re looking forward to playing Cyberpunk 2077 , it would be best for you to avoid any information not coming directly from CD PROJEKT RED. ” I applaud CD Projekt Red ’ s refusal to pay a ransom Attack.Ransom . Paying Attack.Ransom extortionists always runs the risk of encouraging blackmailers to strike again , putting not just your own company but others at further risk . No release date has yet been announced by the Polish game studio for Cyberpunk 2077 , which has been in development for years and is keenly anticipated by the game maker ’ s fans . For CD Projekt RED , the danger is not just whether assets belonging to the game leaking Attack.Databreach into the public domain mess up its marketing strategy . There is also the risk that the gaming community will be unimpressed with any sneak previews of early versions of the game stolen Attack.Databreach by the hackers , and puncture the hype machine . Recent months have seen a rise in attacks Attack.Ransom where hackers have threatened to release a company ’ s intellectual property onto the net unless a ransom is paid Attack.Ransom . A month ago , for instance , The Dark Overlord hacking group attempted to blackmail money Attack.Ransom out of Netflix , before deciding to leak as-yet unaired episodes of hit TV show “ Orange is the New Black. ” The same hacking group has previously published Attack.Databreach 180,000 medical records – including insurance and social security numbers , dates of birth , and payment information – after healthcare firms refused to give in to their demands Attack.Ransom . Most recently , a chain of cosmetic surgeries in Lithuania warned that hackers were threatening to release the personal details of clients , including photographs . Readers with longer memories may recall that in September 2003 , a German hacker leaked Attack.Databreach the source code of the game Half-Life 2 onto the internet , much to the delight of internet users who had become fed up with waiting for the long-awaited video game . It doesn ’ t matter that it ’ s not credit card data or passwords that are being stolen Attack.Databreach – theft is theft Attack.Databreach . Just because it ’ s a video game ’ s plans and designs that are being held for ransom Attack.Ransom by the hackers doesn ’ t make any difference . The threat is real – and could have a commercial impact on the game ’ s producer . CD Projekt Red should be applauded for being so transparent about what has happened , as it ’ s easy to imagine many firms would rather sweep bad news like this under the carpet . What we need now is for game fanatics to exercise some patience and self-control , and resist the urge to hunt out a game before the manufacturer is ready to release it officially themselves .