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How a Hacker Got Doom Running on a John Deere Tractor

Sick Codes’ DEF CON 30 demonstration put a modified Doom on a jailbroken John Deere tractor display—and highlighted debates over access to farm technology.
Length2 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team

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In August 2022, security researcher Sick Codes demonstrated a corn-themed version of Doom running on a jailbroken John Deere tractor display at DEF CON 30 in Las Vegas. It was a one-off demonstration on tractor hardware—not a John Deere feature, a supported game release, or proof that the same approach works on every tractor.

What happened at DEF CON 30?

Sick Codes showed the demonstration during the 2022 DEF CON security conference. The Register reported that the 1993 first-person shooter was adapted with a corn-themed setting, with help from Doom modder Skelegant. The report described Sick Codes as taking control of John Deere farming-machine electronics to run the game; it documents the presentation, rather than offering independent technical validation. The Register’s report covers the event.

The display or control unit had been jailbroken, or given root-level access. That access was central to the stunt: the game was shown running on tractor equipment after its normal software restrictions had been bypassed. It was not a game mode that owners could select through an ordinary tractor menu.

How did Doom run on a tractor?

The essential answer is that Sick Codes gained low-level access to a tractor display or control unit and used it to run a modified version of the game. The available event coverage does not provide a complete, repeatable installation procedure or establish all the software and hardware details needed to reproduce the demonstration. It also does not confirm that Chocolate Doom was the software used on the tractor.

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Chocolate Doom’s project-maintained news page later cited the tractor demonstration as an example of Doom’s portability. That mention is not evidence that Chocolate Doom itself powered the tractor run. Chocolate Doom’s news page gives its own description of the example.

Was this an official John Deere feature or a general-purpose port?

No. The demonstration was presented on a particular piece of tractor hardware after jailbreaking; the reporting does not establish a supported consumer port, an approved John Deere feature, or compatibility with other tractor or display models. It is best understood as a security demonstration, not an installation guide for owners.

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Nor does the story establish that modifying operational agricultural equipment is safe. The sources do not provide a safety assessment or recommend that readers attempt the modification.

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Why put Doom on a tractor?

The game made the access issue easy to see: if an outsider could get a familiar program running on equipment whose software is normally locked down, the demonstration could focus attention on who has control over modern farm technology. Coverage connected the stunt to debate over restricted access to agricultural equipment and the right to repair. That is the context attributed to the presenter and reporting, not a legal finding that resolves the broader debate. WIRED’s coverage discusses the demonstration in that context.

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What the demonstration does—and does not—show

  • It shows: Sick Codes demonstrated a modified version of Doom on a jailbroken John Deere tractor display at DEF CON 30 in 2022, with help from Skelegant.
  • It does not show: that John Deere sells or supports the game, that every tractor can run it, or that the process is safe or repeatable for owners.
  • Its wider significance: the stunt drew attention to questions about access and repair in agricultural technology; it does not settle those questions by itself.

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