For games, hard work is just this: content (which has IP on it), debugging (which is specific to a certain game), handling GPUs (requires engineers, work is obsolete in 3 or 5 years), a few gameplay mechanics (cannot be patented).
Patents only matter when data is about some expensive, long term research that requires physical testing and labs, like a new molecule for a medicine, or some method or building a material.
Even when HL2 source code was stolen, it did not really matter.
Sure it's complex, but it's very use-case specific. Developers will often talk and share how they solve problems, so...