Ubisoft suspends Rainbow Six Siege after payment fraud surge
Ubisoft has taken Rainbow Six Siege offline after hackers exploited a security flaw to distribute billions in in-game currency to players. The incident, which unfolded over the weekend, granted users 2 billion credits each—equivalent to around $13.3 million if purchased legitimately, along with exclusive skins, weapons, and other premium items.
The exploit didn’t just flood accounts with credits. Hackers gained full control over the game’s online services, manipulating chat systems and the ban ticker. Some reports suggest they also targeted Ubisoft leadership with offensive messages, though the company hasn’t confirmed those claims.
Ubisoft’s response was immediate. On December 27, the developer announced the issue and shut down servers to prevent further damage. By the next day, they confirmed a full rollback of transactions tied to the exploit. Players who hadn’t logged in between December 27 at 10:49 UTC and December 29 would see no changes to their inventories. Those who did log in during that window might temporarily lose access to some items, but Ubisoft said corrections would continue over the next two weeks.
The game’s marketplace remains closed indefinitely as investigations proceed. Ubisoft also warned that players might face connection queues as services ramp back up, though live tests were completed by December 29.
This isn’t the first time Rainbow Six Siege has faced major security issues. In 2020, Ubisoft patched a similar exploit that allowed players to duplicate rare in-game items. The company has since reinforced its anti-cheat measures, but the latest breach suggests vulnerabilities persist.
The exploit’s scale—2 billion credits per account, reflects how deeply hackers penetrated the system. Normally, players spend real money for credits: $99.99 buys just 15,000. The hackers’ haul, if converted, would have dwarfed legitimate purchases. Ubisoft’s decision to roll back transactions without bans for spending the credits signals a focus on restoring fairness over punishment.
While Ubisoft hasn’t disclosed how the exploit was executed, the incident raises questions about whether similar flaws exist in other Ubisoft titles or competitors’ games. The company’s handling so far, transparency about the rollback, acknowledgment of service disruptions, and a commitment to long-term fixes, could set a precedent for how developers respond to large-scale in-game hacks.
For now, players can log back in, but the marketplace stays locked. Ubisoft’s next steps, whether additional security patches or a timeline for reopening the store, will determine how quickly trust is restored. The company’s ability to contain the fallout depends on whether the root cause is fully addressed.
