Ubisoft Halts Rainbow Six Siege Services Following Major Hack

According to Cointelegraph, French video gaming giant Ubisoft has temporarily suspended the live services of its popular game, Rainbow Six Siege, after hackers breached the system and distributed 2 billion in-game credits to every player. The breach was confirmed by the Rainbow Six Siege team on Dec. 27 via X, with subsequent updates leading to the suspension of the game's servers and marketplace the following day. Players reported on social media that hackers had gained control over significant parts of the game's online systems, resulting in all players receiving 2 billion in-game R6 credits upon logging in, along with rare items such as skins and guns. Additionally, the hackers reportedly took control of the game's messaging and banning systems, as evidenced by screenshots shared by players. Given that 15,000 R6 credits are typically sold for $99.99, players would need to spend approximately $13.33 million to accumulate 2 billion points. In a post on X dated Dec. 28, the Rainbow Six Siege team announced efforts to reverse the in-game credits received after 11 AM UTC. "A rollback is currently ongoing and afterwards, extensive quality control tests will be executed to ensure the integrity of accounts and effectiveness of changes," the team stated. They assured players that the situation is being handled with extreme care, though the timing of the resolution cannot be guaranteed. Players were also informed that they would not face bans for spending any of the credits they received. The game is currently undergoing testing with a limited number of players as part of a soft-launch strategy. "Opening the game to a small number of players only, while we complete live tests. More information on the rollback and full live relaunch to come," the team communicated on X. Rainbow Six is a significant franchise under Ubisoft, with its Siege title averaging over 34,000 active players daily in December, according to Active Player data. The incident highlights the challenges of managing in-game currency transactions, which would be more complex if the game utilized decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether. Ubisoft has been active in the blockchain gaming space, collaborating with Immutable earlier this year to integrate with Web3 games such as Might & Magic. This breach underscores the ongoing security challenges in the gaming industry, particularly as it intersects with blockchain technology.