A community project that hacked Hasselblad’s X2D cameras to run Doom, install ChatGPT, record video and unlock new autofocus features has reportedly been shut down after Hasselblad’s lawyers became involved, according to a member of the project.

The Hasselblad Refinement & Augmentation Project (HRAP) had been sharing its results on Reddit, and some of them were remarkable. The group demonstrated Doom running on an X2D, ChatGPT installed on an X2D II, video recording on the X2D II – a camera that doesn’t officially shoot video – and new autofocus capabilities.

What happened

According to the report, a project member posted on Reddit that Hasselblad had sent a legal letter demanding the project be shut down, and that its resources would no longer be available. The project’s GitHub repository has reportedly been deleted, along with the author’s Reddit account, although another Redditor who posted many of the project’s videos remains active.

Hasselblad has not commented publicly, and we have asked the company for a statement.

Why it matters

Camera hacking has a long history, from CHDK on Canon compacts to Magic Lantern on EOS DSLRs, both of which added features that manufacturers either couldn’t or wouldn’t. Those projects showed there’s real appetite among owners to get more from their hardware.

At the same time, it’s understandable that a manufacturer would be concerned about unofficial firmware on cameras costing thousands of pounds – not least the risk of bricked bodies and warranty claims. Unlocking video on the X2D II raises another question: if the hardware can do it, will Hasselblad ever offer it officially?

Key details

What next

We’ll update this story if Hasselblad responds. For official firmware updates, see the Hasselblad website.