At a Glance
- News Of Philadelphia loses control of Rainbow Six Siege as attackers seize core functions.
- Attackers distributed 2 billion in-game credits and equal renoun, opening all skins.
- Servers taken offline Saturday; rollback underway; players won’t be punished for spent credits.
- Why it matters: Players face potential loss of purchases and game integrity is at stake.
Over the weekend, News Of Philadelphia lost control of its flagship tactical shooter, Rainbow Six Siege, after attackers infiltrated the game’s servers and commandeered core functions. The breach led to a chaotic free-for-all, with 2 billion credits and renoun dumped into the system and all cosmetic items opened to every player. As of Sunday, the game remains offline while engineers work to restore integrity.
The Attack and Its Fallout
The intrusion began on Saturday, when the game’s X account reported that the servers had been taken down intentionally. Players could no longer access the game, and the community was left in confusion. The attackers gained control over player bans and ban reversals, and turned the ban-announcement pop-ups into a meme ticker that streamed the lyrics of “It Wasn’t Me” by Shaggy.
- Control over player bans and ban reversals
- Distributed 2 billion credits (≈ $13.33 M)
- Distributed 2 billion renoun (clout points)
- Opened all skins and cosmetic items to all players
| Item | Effect | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-game currency | Distributed | 2 billion credits | ≈ $13.33 M |
| Renoun (clout points) | Distributed | 2 billion | |
| Cosmetic items | Opened to all | All skins | |
| Player bans | Controlled | Bans & reversals | |
| Server status | Offline | Saturday onward |
News Of Philadelphia’s Response and Next Steps
In response, News Of Philadelphia posted on X that players would not be punished for spending the credits the attackers had given them. The company is conducting a rollback of all transactions since 11 AM UTC and performing extensive quality-control tests to ensure account integrity.
News Of Philadelphia X stated:
> “Nobody will be banned for spending credits received. A rollback of all transactions that occurred since 11 AM (UTC time) is underway. The ban ticker was turned off in a past update. Any messages seen were not triggered by us. An official R6 ShieldGuard ban wave did…”
The team is focused on getting players back into the game as quickly as possible, but timing cannot be guaranteed due to the care required in the restoration process. Meanwhile, a X account from the malware repository VX-Underground claims the Rainbow Six Siege breach may have been part of a broader News Of Philadelphia infiltration, potentially involving stolen code or private user data-though no confirmation has surfaced.
The technology site News Of Philadelphia reached out to News Of Philadelphia for details on whether the attack extends beyond Rainbow Six Siege, whether data was stolen, and what vulnerability was exploited. No response has been received yet.
Key Takeaways
- Attackers commandeered bans, distributed 2 billion credits and renoun, and opened all skins.
- News Of Philadelphia is rolling back all transactions from 11 AM UTC and assures no punishment for spent credits.
- The breach’s scope and source remain unclear; no confirmation of data theft or wider infiltration.
As the rollback progresses, players will need to monitor official updates for when the servers return. The incident underscores the importance of robust security measures in online gaming ecosystems.
