Table of contents
- The attack that sent everything out of control
- Virtual economy destroyed: why this is a serious problem
- Ubisoft shuts down servers: rollback and frozen marketplace
- No bans for players: a systemic responsibility
- Deep vulnerabilities and fears for the future
- Not the first time: a history of attacks
The attack that sent everything out of control
During the Christmas period, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege in its new Siege X incarnation was hit by an unprecedented hacker attack. The incident directly affected the game’s backend, massively altering its internal economy: thousands of accounts were assigned infinite virtual credits, while other users found themselves banned for no apparent reason.
According to early reconstructions, each affected player reportedly received around two billion credits, a figure that, when compared to microtransaction prices, amounts to millions of euros in virtual value. An anomaly capable of destroying in just a few minutes the balance on which the free-to-play model is built.
Virtual economy destroyed: why this is a serious problem
In modern video games, the in-game economy is not a cosmetic detail but a core pillar of the business. Skins, operators, battle passes and cosmetic content fund the ongoing development of the title. The uncontrolled injection of digital currency turned the Rainbow Six Siege marketplace into a free-for-all, where everything suddenly became free.
The result:
- loss of value of digital items
- risk of systemic fraud
- direct economic damage to the publisher
For a title that relies on microtransactions, the incident comes at the worst possible time of the year, when new users and purchases peak.
Ubisoft shuts down servers: rollback and frozen marketplace
Faced with the chaos, Ubisoft opted for a drastic measure: temporarily shutting down servers between Saturday and Sunday. The goal was to initiate a rollback of the changes and restore the state prior to the attack.
This operation, however, had side effects. Some users reported the temporary loss of legitimately purchased items, while the marketplace remained disabled even after servers came back online, in order to prevent further distortions.
No bans for players: a systemic responsibility
A key point in the official communication concerns bans. Ubisoft clarified that no player will be punished for receiving or spending credits obtained through the breach. A clear signal that the company views the incident as a technical failure, not as a violation of rules by users.
A delicate issue remains open, however: during the attack an automatic wave of bans was reportedly scheduled and is now under review. Determining who was unfairly affected will be one of the most complex phases of the post-incident process.
Deep vulnerabilities and fears for the future
According to the cyber security collective vx-underground, the incident was not the result of a single exploit, but of two distinct attacks carried out by four different groups. The attackers reportedly had the ability to:
- modify inventories
- assign bans
- distribute unlimited credits
This picture suggests the existence of structural vulnerabilities in the game’s management systems. A huge risk, not only for the virtual economy, but for the entire online infrastructure.
Not the first time: a history of attacks
For Ubisoft, this is not an isolated case. In the past, the company has already faced DDoS attacks, ransom demands and data leaks, even taking legal action against those responsible. In this case as well, the publisher prefers to refer to what happened as an “incident” pending the completion of investigations, avoiding for now the term “hacker attack.”
A wake-up call for the entire industry
The Rainbow Six Siege incident goes beyond a single game. It shows how online video games have become complex economic platforms, exposed to the same risks as digital financial systems. When security fails, the domino effect is immediate: trust, reputation and revenues all come under attack.
