On December 27 2025, Ubisoft’s tactical shooter Rainbow Six Siege experienced one of the most significant security incidents in its decade-long history when hackers flooded player accounts with billions of in-game credits and premium items, triggering a full shutdown of Siege servers and the in-game marketplace across all platforms. Ubisoft has since confirmed that no active bans will be issued for players who received or spent the illegitimately credited currency, and a rollback of all affected transactions since 11 a.m. UTC is underway as the company works to restore normal operations.
What Happened: The Hack That Crashed Siege
Massive Unauthorised Credits Flood Player Accounts
On Saturday, December 27, 2025, players began reporting sudden and inexplicable additions of R6 Credits, Renown, Alpha Packs, and exclusive cosmetic items — including rare “Glacier” and developer-exclusive skins — to their Rainbow Six Siege accounts. Accounts across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and all regions showed inflated balances going into the billions of in-game currency without any action taken by the players themselves.
These weren’t small rounding errors — the sheer scale (billions of credits and rare items) immediately suggested a major breach of the game’s backend systems or admin tools rather than an isolated glitch.
Servers and Marketplace Pulled Offline
In response, Ubisoft intentionally shut down the Rainbow Six Siege servers, including:
- Core game services (authentication, matchmaking, multiplayer access),
- The Siege Marketplace where credits and items are traded or purchased,
- All platform servers across PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.
The shutdown was confirmed via Ubisoft’s service status pages and the official Rainbow Six Siege X account on X (formerly Twitter).
Official Ubisoft Response: Rollbacks & No Player Bans
Public Statements and Early Guidance
Ubisoft has officially acknowledged the incident, confirming that its teams are actively investigating the cause and working on a resolution. In a statement posted on the Rainbow Six Siege X account, the publisher said:
“We’re aware of an incident currently affecting Rainbow Six Siege. Our teams are working on a resolution. We will share further updates once available.”
Soon after, Ubisoft clarified that:
- Players will not be banned for using or possessing the credits and items they received during the exploit window.
- A rollback of all in-game transactions since 11 a.m. UTC on December 27 is already in progress, aimed at returning accounts to a stable pre-incident state.
- Ban messages seen by some players were not triggered by Ubisoft’s anti-cheat systems but were the result of unrelated internal mechanisms (the “ban ticker” feature had been disabled prior to the incident).
This approach — rollback rather than punishment — aligns with Ubisoft’s priority to protect the integrity of player data and maintain confidence in the game’s systems after an unexpected security breach.
Extent of the Breach: Currency, Items, and Random Bans
Billions of R6 Credits and Rare Items
Multiple reports from player communities and news outlets indicate that billions of R6 Credits and massive amounts of Renown were credited to accounts worldwide, including:
- Premium currency normally purchasable with real money,
- Renown used to unlock operators and other features,
- Exclusive cosmetic items that should only be earned or purchased legitimately.
This sudden inflation of in-game resources risked destabilising the Siege economy — which is why the Marketplace was immediately shut down to prevent price distortion and misuse of the exploit.
Random Ban Alerts & False Positives
Compounding player confusion were reports of random bans, including some targeting well-known content creators and even official Ubisoft or moderator accounts, suggesting that automated systems were reacting erratically in the wake of the breach.
However, Ubisoft has firmly stated that:
- The apparent ban messages were not issued by the company’s anti-cheat system,
- Any bans seen were either unrelated or false positives resulting from the attack’s side effects,
- Legitimate players who did not commit intentional misconduct will not be penalised for having credits added by the breach.
Community Reaction and Player Advice
Player Fears and Behaviours
Across subreddits and gaming forums, Siege players expressed a mix of excitement and anxiety:
- Some joked about “spending allegedly free credits” and hyperinflating the Marketplace.
- Others worried that logging in or using the currency might lead to future account penalties — advice from community veterans recommended avoiding spending any credits until after the rollback completes.
From firsthand experience covering online gaming crises, incidents like this often spawn conflicting community narratives: some players treat it as a windfall, others fear long-term consequences. Ubisoft’s public rollback commitment, however, should offer reassurance to those concerned about account integrity.
Streamer and Creator Impact
Several prominent Siege streamers reported being mistakenly flagged or banned — highlighting how the breach affected not just everyday players but also official and influencer accounts, thereby amplifying visibility and urgency of the incident.
Technical Speculation: What the Hack Might Have Exploited
Security analysts and gaming tech commentators suggest that the breach likely involved:
- Exploitation of administrator privileges or internal database manipulation, allowing outsiders to inject currency directly into accounts.
- Unauthorized access to transaction systems, which then triggered structured changes across millions of user profiles.
- Manipulation of backend systems that track currency balances and cosmetic item ownership.
While Ubisoft has not disclosed the root cause, experts note that such attacks often target authentication servers or poorly configured backend APIs, especially during peak usage times.
Impact on Gameplay, Economy, and Competitive Modes
Marketplace and Ranked Play Disabled
With the Marketplace offline and servers down, players have been unable to:
- Access matchmaking for casual or ranked play,
- Purchase operators, bundles, or skins,
- Access seasonal content or Battle Pass progression.
This is particularly disruptive because Siege’s economy — balancing purchased currency with earned Renown — is tied deeply to its progression and competitive ecosystem.
Community and Competitive Scene Disruption
Professional players and esports teams rely on stable matchmaking and item tracking for tournaments and ranked seasons. This breach has effectively paused competitive play until systems are secured and normal services are restored, a rare and significant interruption for a title with millions of daily users.
What Ubisoft Has Promised Next
Rollback and Restoration
Ubisoft’s current plan includes:
- Rollback of all in-game transactions since 11 a.m. UTC on December 27, reversing illegitimate gains,
- Re-enabling the Siege Marketplace with safeguards in place,
- A public postmortem on the breach once the crisis is contained.
No Immediate Bans
Crucially, Ubisoft has stated that players will not be banned for using credits received via the exploit, alleviating community fears and reinforcing that the company does not intend to punish legitimate users caught up in this dangerous glitch.
Timeline of Key Events
- ~11:00 a.m. UTC: Exploit begins injecting credits and items into accounts.
- Afternoon: Reports flood social platforms as players notice inflated balances.
- Early evening: Ubisoft acknowledges incident and begins emergency shutdown of servers and Marketplace.
- Later evening: Confirmation of rollback actions and assurances of no bans released.
Player Safety Tips During the Outage
From experience covering similar game security issues:
- Avoid logging in repeatedly, as server instability can risk account corruption.
- Do not spend any credits or Renown gained illegitimately.
- Wait for official Ubisoft announcements before attempting purchases or matchmaking.
- Monitor the official Rainbow Six Siege X account for updates and timelines.
Conclusion: Chaos, Reassurance, and Recovery Ahead
The Rainbow Six Siege server hack of December 27 2025 will be remembered as one of the biggest security breaches in the game’s history. Billions of R6 Credits and premium items flooding accounts risked damaging the in-game economy and competitive integrity. Ubisoft’s swift decision to shut down all platforms, halt the Marketplace, and roll back transactions while promising no player bans shows a commitment to restoring normalcy without punishing innocent users.
As the situation unfolds, the priority remains clear: secure the infrastructure, restore servers, and rebuild player trust — all while ensuring that once-in-a-generation hacks like this don’t become another holiday tradition for the Siege community.
