French video game publisher Ubisoft was forced to shut down the live services of Rainbow Six Siege after hackers compromised the game and distributed 2 billion in-game credits to every player.
The breach was first acknowledged by the development team on X on Dec. 27, followed by several updates that ultimately led to the suspension of the game’s servers and in-game marketplace the next day.
Players reported on social media that the attackers gained control over key online systems, causing all users to receive 2 billion R6 Credits upon logging in, along with rare cosmetic items such as exclusive skins and weapons.
Screenshots shared by the community also suggested that the hackers accessed the game’s messaging and banning tools.
At current prices—15,000 R6 Credits costing $99.99—amassing 2 billion credits would normally require spending approximately $13.33 million.
In a post on X dated Dec. 28, the Rainbow Six Siege team said it was implementing a rollback to remove any in-game credits granted after 11:00 a.m. UTC.
“A rollback is currently in progress, after which extensive quality-control testing will be carried out to ensure account integrity and the effectiveness of the changes,” the team stated.
They added that the issue was being handled with extreme caution and that no firm timeline could be provided, promising further updates as more information becomes available.
The development team also confirmed that players will not face bans for spending any of the credits they received during the incident.
The game is now returning through a soft launch, with Rainbow Six Siege currently being tested by a limited group of players ahead of a full relaunch.
“We are opening the game to a small number of players while we complete live tests. More information on the rollback and the full live relaunch will be shared soon,” the team said in a post on X.
Rainbow Six remains one of Ubisoft’s flagship franchises. Its Siege installment recorded an average of more than 34,000 daily active players in December, according to data from Active Player.
The incident also highlights the level of control centralized game publishers retain over in-game economies. Reversing currency transactions of this scale would not be possible in systems built on fully decentralized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ether. However, as shown by the controversial Flow blockchain rollback over the weekend, similar interventions can still occur in certain blockchain-based projects.
Ubisoft has been increasingly active in the blockchain gaming sector, having partnered with Immutable earlier this year to leverage its infrastructure for integrating Web3 features into titles such as Might & Magic.
