Cyber Incident Victim: MoneyHorse Games
Date:
Dec 2015
Location:
United States of America
Summary
MoneyHorse Games experienced a disruptive cyberattack targeting their development of the Kim Jong Un-themed game "Glorious Leader," resulting in destroyed project data, locked systems, and website inaccessibility. The incident hindered their Kickstarter campaign management, prompting its cancellation amid admitted pledge/reward missteps, though the company attributed the hack to opportunistic copycats inspired by high-profile attacks like Sony's rather than North Korean actors. Prior threats and targeting related to the game's controversial subject matter were also acknowledged.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 3 motives | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
MoneyHorse Games announced *Glorious Leader!*, a platformer featuring North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as the protagonist, in May 2014. The game moved to a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in December 2014 to secure development funds. Approximately one week after launching the campaign, MoneyHorse Games canceled it, citing a cyberattack that occurred over the 2014 holiday period. The developers stated they were "victims of a hack inspired by the attack on Sony," referencing the high-profile breach of Sony Pictures Entertainment that occurred weeks earlier. Attackers destroyed development data for *Glorious Leader!* and other in-progress projects, locked the studio out of their computers and official website, and disrupted their ability to manage the Kickstarter campaign. MoneyHorse Games acknowledged additional self-identified contributing factors to the campaign's failure, including errors in structuring pledge levels and rewards. The studio declared the funding goal unattainable and formally withdrew the campaign.
This incident was not the first time MoneyHorse Games reported being targeted due to *Glorious Leader!*, with prior hacking attempts and unspecified threats preceding the December 2014 attack. Initially, the studio characterized the website compromise as a "hoax perpetrated by amateurs," explicitly denying any credible connection to North Korea's government or its military intelligence arm (the General Reconnaissance Bureau, or GRP). They suggested the attack was likely an opportunistic imitation of the Sony breach rather than a politically motivated operation. The full extent of the hack’s impact remained unclear, as the developers did not disclose technical details about data loss severity, initial access vectors, or remediation efforts beyond regaining system access. MoneyHorse Games announced a reevaluation of their commitment to continuing *Glorious Leader!* development following the combined pressures of cyber intrusions and threats. The Kickstarter campaign cancellation marked the project's effective halt, with no subsequent public updates on its revival or studio recovery efforts.