Hackers have stolen valuable information from major game publisher Electronic Arts (EA), the company said.

The attackers claimed to have downloaded source code for games such as FIFA 21 and for the proprietary Frostbite game engine used as the base for many other high-profile games.

News of the hack was first reported by news site Vice, which said some 780GB of data was stolen.

EA said no player data had been stolen in the breach.

The firm is one of the largest games companies in the world. It counts major series such as Battlefield, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, The Sims, and Titanfall among the titles it develops or publishes - as well as a vast array of annual sports games.

"We are investigating a recent incident of intrusion into our network where a limited amount of game source code and related tools were stolen," an EA spokesperson said in a statement.

"No player data was accessed, and we have no reason to believe there is any risk to player privacy," she added.

The company said it had already improved security and stated that it did not expect "an impact on our games or our business".

Law enforcement has also been contacted.

The "network intrusion" was not a ransomware attack and had happened recently, EA added.

BBC News