Visualize launching your favorite tactical shooter only to discover an astronomical fortune sitting in your account—wealth so immense that you could effectively purchase every item in the digital storefront for a lifetime. This surreal scenario became a reality for a segment of the Rainbow Six Siege community last weekend. These credits weren’t just a visual glitch; they represented the equivalent of millions of dollars in real-world value, the result of a sophisticated breach that caught Ubisoft off guard.
Originally debuted in 2015, Rainbow Six Siege remains a cornerstone of the squad-based FPS genre. Even a decade after its launch, the game boasts a dedicated player base committed to its high-stakes bomb defusals and hostage rescues. While Siege utilizes various anti-cheat measures to deter malicious actors, those defenses were apparently bypassed during a significant intrusion that unfolded on December 27, right in the heart of the holiday season.
By that Saturday, social media platforms were flooded with bewildered testimonials from players questioning why their accounts suddenly featured billions in Renown, the game’s earnable currency. The community’s reaction was split: some players, fearing a permanent ban, refused to touch the windfall, while others immediately began a frantic shopping spree. The sudden surge in activity was so intense that the in-game shop reportedly began to malfunction as players attempted to unlock every available cosmetic and operator.
“I opened the game after a two-week break and now have 2 billion renown,” one stunned user posted on Reddit. In the same discussion, another player celebrated the glitch as the “greatest day of my life,” claiming it felt like becoming an “instant billionaire.”
“The Siege market crash is imminent,” another user joked, referencing the absurdity of the situation.
Ubisoft ultimately quelled the chaos on Saturday by taking the servers offline entirely. In a follow-up communication, the developer reassured the community that players would not be penalized for spending the illegitimate currency, though they confirmed that all unauthorized transactions were being rolled back. By the following day, Ubisoft noted it was conducting “extensive quality control tests” to restore the integrity of the game’s economy.
“The team is dedicated to restoring access as quickly as possible,” Ubisoft stated via their official social media channels. “Please understand that we are handling this matter with extreme precision, and as such, we cannot provide a guaranteed timeline for completion. We appreciate your patience as we navigate this situation.”
While the game has since returned to a state of normalcy, the incident has left lingering questions. Ubisoft has remained tight-lipped regarding the specific mechanics of the breach or whether any sensitive user data was exposed during the event. The developer has not yet issued a formal response to further inquiries regarding the security lapse.
“Has there been any word on the severity of the data breach?” one fan asked in a thread analyzing the aftermath. Other community members expressed sympathy for the development team, noting the unfortunate timing of the attack, which likely forced a skeleton crew to manage a major crisis during the holiday break.
Source: Polygon
