DDoS attacks cripple Final Fanatasy XIV, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and other games

A series of popular online games, including the Final Fantasy XIV and the Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, suffered a state of latency after they were plagued by a slew of DDoS attacks. The incident occurred on October 4, the day when Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was launched.

Ubisoft issues a warning

In the wake of the incident, Ubisoft issued an alert to users informing them about the attack.

“We’re currently experiencing a series of DDoS attacks, which unfortunately are a common occurrence for almost all online service providers. This may impact connections to our games as well as server latency, and we are taking steps to mitigate this issue,” Ubisoft posted in its official forum.

Ubisoft’s other games such as Rainbow Six, Siege and For Honor were also affected by the attacks.

Square Enix also affected

The DDoS attacks also affected Square Enix’s ‘Final Fantasy XIV’ game. However, it is still unclear whether the attack is linked with the one that targeted Ubisoft.

A recent report from NetScout Arbor disclosed that online gaming has become a top target for DDoS attacks. Targeting online gaming sites can be profitable to cybercriminals, who could use the network traffic block as leverage to extort gaming firms.

Commenting on the incident, Corero Network Security’s director of product management, Sean Newman, said that it was “somewhat bemusing why some providers of online gaming platforms appear to still accept a certain air of inevitability when it comes to suffering as the result of DDoS attacks,” SC Magazine reported.

“With solutions available which can protect against DDoS automatically, and in real-time, help is at hand to keep games online, avoid lag, and ensure that player confidence and bottom lines are preserved,” he added.