Marvel’s Avengers bug reveals streamers’ personal information

Marvel’s Avengers was updated on Tuesday, with new content added to Crystal Dynamics’ ensemble beat-em-up. The patch also has one serious and potentially dangerous issue: Some players’ IP addresses are being shown on the screen.

The update went live Tuesday morning, and players have reported this problem to the studio. It’s unclear if this is a bug limited to a certain console or platform, but it appears that not all players are affected. Forbes reporter Paul Tassi confirmed that bug revealed his information in white text at the bottom of a screenshot he posted to Twitter.

The game’s official social media account coyly confirmed there was a problem in the game with “a floating string of text.” Developers have advised players to stop streaming the game.

Broadcasting a streamer’s IP address poses a serious risk to them; some popular streamers have been targets of dangerous “swatting” calls where false threats are phoned to local law enforcement.

“We’re aware of the issue where a floating string of text appears on the screen and are investigating,” the developer tweeted from the game’s official account. “Thank you for the reports!”

An IP (internet protocol) address is a unique set of numbers used to identify individual computers and devices on the internet. It’s like your online address, and it’s also tied to the physical location of the device you’re using. With an IP address, hackers can initiate DDoS attacks, or block certain websites or services. Needless to say, no one wants that sort of thing inadvertently made public.

Polygon has reached out to a Square Enix representative for additional information.