Tue, Feb 22, 2011 | 11:55 GMT
Half-Life 2 hacker “very sorry” for stealing source code
Axel Gembe, the person who managed to hack into Valve’s computer network and download the source code for Half-Life 2, has said he’s “very sorry” for causing the situation.
In a feature around the leak, Gembe told Eurogamer: “I am so very sorry for what I did to you. I never intended to cause you harm. If I could undo it, I would. It still makes me sad thinking about it. I would have loved to just stay and watch you do your thing, but in the end I screwed it up.
“You are my favorite developer, and I will always buy your games.”
Gembe admitted he infamously downloaded the source code from Valve’s network back in 2003, but says he was not the one who uploaded it onto the internet, saying that the person who uploaded it was the only one Gembe shared the code with.
“I didn’t think it through,” he said. “There was, of course, an element of bragging going on. But the person I shared the source with assured me he would keep it to himself. He didn’t.”
Gembe was eventually arrested by German police for what he did, but was given two years probation for his childhood and how he managed to turn his life around.
The full feature is through. It’s an great read.
11 
Posted in: Action, Valve
Tags: Axel Gembe, half-life 2
11 comments
#1
xInFeRnO
22/02/11, 11:59 am
God, 8 years later
#2
Johnny Cullen
22/02/11, 11:59 am
That Eurogamer piece is seriously one of the best pieces I’ve ever read. You should read it too if you haven’t already.
#3
LePlatypus
22/02/11, 12:02 pm
I read it yesterday, I loved the way they titled the paragraphs based on Hl2 chapter titles.
#4
xInFeRnO
22/02/11, 12:14 pm
Just read it. Indeed it is a very good article, really goes in depth about it all.
#5
RickyWicky
22/02/11, 12:54 pm
“I’m so sorry I got caught,” is probably what he means?
#6
RickyWicky
22/02/11, 1:01 pm
That is a good article.
#7
David Sarkisjan
22/02/11, 1:42 pm
Nice to see an article like this! I wish there would be more of them on gaming sites.
#8
DSB
22/02/11, 2:03 pm
Great story, but Parkin arguably takes his words at face value the whole way through.
That always bothers me when someone gets a great story like that. Why not try to get to the bottom of things?
Also, why point a gun at a sleeping man? It doesn’t make any sense. I know German cops have a psycho reputation, but I have a hard time picturing that.
#9
Mike
22/02/11, 3:53 pm
It’s good, but not as awesome as people are making out. It’s the subject matter that’s so fascinating, not the actual writing itself.
Opinions/arseholes etc.
#10
osric90
22/02/11, 9:45 pm
Let’s make a movie about this.
#11
osric90
22/02/11, 9:46 pm
@10 Yes, it can be The Social Network of videogame movies.