eli5 How do game developers lose the source code? Can’t they get the code from the discs like modders and speedrunners do?

Question

I just found out that Konami somehow lost the source code to the PS2 version of Silent Hill so they had to recreate it. How do they lose it and why can’t they get it from a random game disc? Isn’t that how modders, emulators, and speedrunners see the code?

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Answer 1

the game is like a house, and the source code is like the bricks that make up the house. once the house is constructed, that’s it, you can’t undo it. you can’t remove the bricks one by one and stack them up.

after compilation, the code on the disc is now just a bunch of 1s and 0s. modders can do what they do by figuring out which of the 1s and 0s do which specific task. like how you can add window or a wall socket on an already built house.