Codemasters probe into Dirt 3 ‘digital theft’

UK studio Codemasters is investigating reports that an online database of Dirt 3 Steam game codes has been raided.

Various reports suggest that as many as three million Dirt 3 game codes – all of which unlock free versions of the game on Steam – have been illicitly copied by an anonymous hacker.

But how many Dirt 3 codes have gone missing, if any, is a matter of speculation. A Kotaku report, which ran with the headline that three million had been taken, clarifies at the bottom of the article that 250,000 missing codes could be a more accurate figure.

The codes are believed to be tied to a promotional campaign by chipmaker AMD. Companies that buy AMD tech would, it is believed, also receive a free copy of Dirt 3. That would suggest that three million codes is an unrealistic estimation.

Codemasters is preparing a statement on the matter, and has told Develop that it is investigating the issue.

In June, the sensitive personal information from ‘thousands’ of Codemasters customers had been compromised in a network attack.