If you’ve tried playing Diablo 4 on a weekend, you’re probably well aware that it’s impossible most of the time. I know I did, and definitely can’t log in. I know I did, what I initially thought was a problem on my side turned out to be a problem on Blizzard’s side.
More specifically, the developer’s infrastructure suffered a DDoS attack that took down the servers for Diablo 4, a game that requires a constant online connection.
As you can imagine, players were quick to air their displeasure on Reddit and social media, and wondered if others were also unable to log in. Blizzard quickly acknowledged the outage, confirming that it was indeed the result of a DDoS attack.
Developers used an in-game news widget to inform players that a DDoS attack was taking place, which could result in disconnects and failed logins. Even more frustrating, the DDoS attack also meant that even those able to play the game experienced lag and rubber banding issues (beyond usual).
DDoS is an attack that floods a server with fake requests, causing it to crash. Botnets are often used by bad actors to launch these attacks, which are often aimed at compromising a target’s uptime.
Most of the attacks happened on Sunday, and they were not limited to a single area.Both are owned by Blizzard North America and Europe The customer service Twitter account confirmed the glitch.
It took a few hours for things to return to normal, having stabilized since late Sunday. For more Diablo 4 coverage, why not follow the link? There are plenty of interesting stories out there from the community (and beyond), we promise!