The leaked footage from the forthcoming PS4 game The Last of Us Part II was obtained by hackers, according to new reports.
It had previously been speculated that the leak, which caused substantial uproar across the gaming world, was the result of a rogue employee of games studio Naughty Dog.
However, Twitter account @PixelButts posted a lengthy theory on how footage from the game came to be obtained and disseminated.
Games journalist Jason Schreier also corroborated the news on Twitter, writing: “After talking to two people with direct knowledge of how TLOU2 leaked as well as some Naughty Dog employees, I have a good idea of what happened.”
“Short version: hackers found a security vulnerability in a patch for an older ND game and used it to get access to ND’s servers.”
The Last of Us Part II is one of the year’s most fiercely anticipated releases.
It is a sequel to the universally acclaimed 2013 PS3 game The Last of Us, which followed two endearing characters who traverse a post-apocalyptic US. The game was remastered and released on the PS4 console a year after its debut.
After its original May release date was abandoned because of coronavirus-related distribution issues, the game is now set to come out on 19 June.
