It looks like Albion Online is being targeted by some angry digital racketeers if word from Sandbox Interactive is to be believed. Over the past weekend as well as earlier this morning, the game started facing a series of DDoS attacks because the studio fought back against botting.
The attack first kicked off this past Saturday, primarily affecting the Albion West server and forcing an early maintenance. Shortly after the server was reopened, attacks picked back up on the game as well as the forums but were stymied by additional countermeasures, which led the devs to declare the situation “cautiously cleared for now.” Unfortunately, the West server is under attack again as of this morning, but the studio promises its team is on the case.
This series of DDoS attempts appears to stem from upgrades made last Thursday that made it harder for botters to create new accounts, as attacks began shortly after the measure was applied.
“As you may have noticed, the number of bots found in the game is, at least for now, on a significantly lower level than it was in the majority of the past few weeks. You are seeing the results, we are seeing the results – the person(s) running the bot farms are also seeing the results. And while you, adventurers, and us are very happy about the results, the people running their bot business are not. Very much so, apparently.”
Despite the assault on the game’s infrastructure, Sandbox Interactive remains resolute and even claims the perpetrators are using desperate measures. “[The DDoS attack] is the sign that we really hurt them, and that we are on the right track,” the post reads. “This also means that we will continue down this path, with strengthened vigor.”
The studio further acknowledges that server issues are frustrating, but thanks players for their support and promises that compensation will be offered for the inconvenience. For now, it appears to be a digital war of attrition launched by a frantic and angry bot operation.
⚠️We're currently experiencing a DDoS attack on our servers again. Our team is actively working to stabilize the situation.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through this.— Albion Online (@albiononline) July 10, 2023
