CS:GO Source Code Leak Confirmed, Team Fortress 2 Code Still Unverified
Every so often, we hear about leaks of source code for games but, more often than not, those games are no longer maintained or even sold. Sometimes, however, source code for games still in the market does get into the public's hands, such as this latest code dump for Valve's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Team Fortress 2. Unfortunately, considering these two multi-player games are still in wide active use, players and server owners are panicking about the vulnerabilities that can now be exploited by hackers.
Valve itself has more or less confirmed that the leaked source code is the real deal. The source code for the two games apparently came from licensees of its Source code game engine who got their hands on these games in 2017. The leaked was apparently made back in 2018 but is only causing a large ruckus now.
The Steam store owner and developer confirmed the accuracy of the source code but is also assuring that gamers have nothing to worry about in terms of security vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, it has so far only spoken on behalf of CS:GO, leaving TF2 players still alarmed and confused.
We have reviewed the leaked code and believe it to be a reposting of a limited CS:GO engine code depot released to partners in late 2017, and originally leaked in 2018. From this review, we have not found any reason for players to be alarmed or avoid the current builds.
— CS2 (@CounterStrike) April 22, 2020
Official channels for Team Fortress 2 remain silent on the matter, resulting in no small amount of confusion and even panic among the game's community. Community-run servers have shut down temporarily while there's still no reassuring statement from Valve. Other community members with investments in the game, however, are trying to downplay the situation. Valve could also use this incident to encourage players to only use official servers at the expense of fan-driven communities.
This isn't the first time source code for a major Valve game got leaked, the last one happening more than a decade ago. Back then, the code of Half-Life 2 was stolen and an arrest was even made, the high-profile theft making rounds in gaming news.