The reason data leaks is common, is because it always provides previously undisclosed information that sometimes, the data within can be valuable.
This is why digital information can be considered assets due to what it's worth.
And this time, Valve, the American video game developer, publisher, and digital distribution company headquartered from Washington, is experiencing its biggest data leak, after a series of asset repositories for its games from 2016 onward were released online.
The games include: Portal, Counter Strike: Source, Day of Defeat: Source, Half Life 2: Episodes 1 & 2, Half-Life 2 multiplayer, and Team Fortress 2.
Team Fortress 2 alone has around 61GB-worth of valuable assets.
The leaks seem to originate from an account that calls themselves 'WandererLeaker' and was initial shared through Discord through multiple outlets, most notably the Valve Cut Content Discord server.
According to the leaker:
"I have held onto these since 2016. Most of the file dates are from when I moved them after my computer blew up in 2019."
The leaks come in the form of asset repositories, which means they contain data for the games' design.
These files are typically bundled before being shared to partners.
But what's worth to note here is that, many of the assets never really saw the light of day.
For example, there are prototype maps, various 3D models, unused animations, several tutorial modes, weapon variants, and more.
The leak also includes various taunts inside the games that were created, but either never added to the game or remain unfinished.
Particular for the game Team Fortress 2, the leak suggests that Valve is already abandoning the project.
Despite having a beloved and dedicated fanbase, Team Fortress 2 has been neglected by Valve, and is only alive by fan events as the company leaves it behind.
The community considers the Jungle Inferno update in 2017 to be the last major patch added to the game, aside from the yearly Halloween patches.
So here, following the leak, Team Fortress 2 fans were quite surprised to know that the leak coming from Valve’s source developer repository contains unused weapons, models, maps and even more versions of current weapons.
The leak even has one unused female character.
Soon after realizing the leak, fans of Team Fortress 2 are sifting through the game’s files.
Valve hasn’t seen a leak this big since 2003, when Half Life 2 was leaked due to a server breach caused by a German hacker.
Before that, Valve also dealt with another leak, when the source code for Team Fortress 2 and Counter Strike: Global Offensive have both leaked.
Just before, this Valve experienced another similar leak incident, where a prototype of Left 4 Dead known as Zombie City or Terror-Strike, had its data shared to the web.
The game was originally an idea for a mod that transformed the counter-terrorists in the game into bots who would come to attack players in swarms. The game was later became the foundation for Left 4 Dead's iconic horde gameplay.
Valve is a globally recognized company, which develops many popular game titles.
Throughout the years, its games have grown large fan base.
Just like many popular game titles out there, Valve's games go through a lengthy development process, and this explains why the leak contains hundreds to thousands of documents, photos, and other media.
