It was announced just last month and playtests only began one week ago – but hackers are already playing Project Rene A.K.A. The Sims 5 according to a new report.
The next generation Sims game, which is assumed to be The Sims 5, is still very early in development. But security exploits have enabled hackers to crack the game.
The report by Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson says hackers gained access to the game using a playtester’s “devuno [sic] token”. This allowed them to generate further access tokens which has enabled them to play “without needing any form of online access or approval from EA.”
The hack isn’t restricted to single-player elements of this early The Sims 5 build, either.
Henderson states that hackers have shown themselves playing on P2P servers while bypassing EA’s servers.
This, of course, is a worrying development for EA. The Sims 4 is a massively popular game – and any public leak of The Sims 5 is bound to attract the attention of players eager to try the next Sims game.
At present, it is unclear if the hackers intend to make the Project Rene access tokens public. Henderson stated that he asked the question but didn’t receive an answer prior to the publication of his report.
How Did The Sims 5 Get Hacked?
Details of how hackers gained access to the playtesters build of The Sims 5 are scarce. But it is apparently linked to the game being built in Unreal Engine 5.
EA previously confirmed that the game would be prototyped in Unreal Engine. However, this decision has reportedly made it easier to crack.
In his report, Tom Henderson explained that the fact the game runs on Unreal Engine and is unencrypted “made it “real easy” to bypass the titles [lack of] security.”
The Sims 5 Features
Back on October 18th, EA gave us our first glimpse of The Sims 5.
The new game offers deeper levels of creativity and customisation, from colours and patterns of furniture down to the exact position of sofa cushions.
What’s more, it is introducing a multiplayer element that will allow players to create and share together across platforms.
In the demo, we saw what appeared to be the game running simultaneously across tablet and mobile (as if two users were playing together).
Are you excited for The Sims 5? How do you feel about the hack? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
