Source code leaks are really nice because the community can go in and fix sh1t, add features, make newer ports for newer OSes, and in the case of non-PC games, make native PC ports (see
Super Mario 64's excellent native PC version with mod support that was also ported to Wii U and 3DS, where it runs better on those two systems than the official port on Switch that is part of the
Super Mario 3D All-Stars package, and there's also a native PC port of
Zelda: Ocarina of Time coming).
The source code is the reason games like the original Doom has had such long legs.
id Software releasing the code to their engines was what allowed source ports to happen. GZDoom and Zandronum for games on the
Doom 1 engine. And of course other games like Quake 1 and 2 have source ports. The
Marathon series has the Aleph One source port. Source ports are probably the best ways to play older PC games on newer systems and OSes, not to mention expanding the feature sets of these games.
It's so sad that id no longer releases their source code after a number of years have passed since Zenimax acquired them.
Yeah I'm really bummed about that, and also no native Linux versions either.
The original Far Cry had numerous outstanding issues after the last patch was released that the community can now go about fixing.
Yeah, good shiznit.