Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege faced one of the most bizarre security crises in gaming history over the December 27 weekend. Players logged in to find their accounts suddenly loaded with 2 billion R6 Credits (worth roughly $13.3 million each), ultra-rare skins they never purchased, and a ban ticker spamming random messages across their screens. The total economic impact reached an astronomical $339 trillion in virtual currency distributed across the player base.
But the real shock came days later when security researchers revealed this wasn’t just a one-time exploit. A separate, ongoing scandal involving bribed customer support staff has been quietly compromising player accounts since 2021.
What Actually Happened During the Hack
On December 27, 2025, hackers gained administrative control of Rainbow Six Siege’s backend systems and went wild. According to Kotaku, players reported receiving 2 billion in both R6 Credits and Renown, along with every cosmetic item in the game. This included developer-only skins and the coveted Glacier variants that normally cost hundreds of dollars.
The hackers didn’t stop at currency distribution. They manipulated the ban system to randomly ban and unban players, including streamers and official Ubisoft accounts. Custom messages mocking Ubisoft leadership appeared in the ban ticker before the company shut everything down. Ubisoft pulled the game and its marketplace offline within hours, leaving players in the dark about what was happening.
The company stayed silent for five hours, during which panic spread across Reddit and social media. Rumors flew that anyone spending the free credits would be permanently banned. When Ubisoft finally responded, they clarified that nobody would face punishment and announced a complete rollback to the game’s state from 11 AM UTC on December 27.
Five Groups and a Web of Lies
Security firm VX-Underground later revealed that five distinct hacker groups were involved in or connected to the chaos. Group One, dubbed “The Chaos Crew,” actually performed the breach by exploiting Rainbow Six Siege’s service APIs. They had no interest in stealing user data or source code, they just wanted to cause maximum disruption.
Group Two tried to capitalize on the situation by claiming they stole Ubisoft’s source code using a MongoDB vulnerability called MongoBleed. While they do possess some Ubisoft source code, VX-Underground confirmed they lied about how they obtained it. They had the data for a while and used the hack as cover to release it.
Group Three was completely fraudulent, attempting to extort Ubisoft on Telegram with fake user data they never actually compromised. Multiple imposters pretending to be Group Three appeared, adding to the confusion. Group Four remained largely mysterious, while Group Five emerged as highly skilled reverse engineers who exposed the lies of the other groups and provided technical breakdowns of what really happened.
The Bribery Scandal Nobody Saw Coming
While investigating the hack, VX-Underground uncovered a completely separate security failure that’s been festering since 2021. Customer support representatives, primarily based in India, South Africa, and Egypt, have been accepting monetary bribes to give hackers access to Rainbow Six Siege accounts.
Using their customer service panels, these corrupted staff members could access sensitive player information including full names, email addresses, and IP addresses. They would then hand over account access to whoever paid them. VX-Underground provided photographic evidence from June 2025 proving this vulnerability still existed months before the December hack.
According to reports, Ubisoft has known about this problem and has fired some staff members while threatening others with legal action. However, the issue persists because the company hasn’t fixed the underlying systemic problems that allow bribery to continue. Low wages and insufficient training make these outsourced support staff vulnerable to financial incentives from bad actors.
Ubisoft’s Response and Recovery
Rainbow Six Siege remained offline for approximately 48 hours while Ubisoft worked to restore the game to its pre-hack state. The company performed extensive quality control tests to ensure account integrity before allowing players back in through a soft launch. By December 29, the game was fully reopened to all players.
All purchases made during the breach, whether with legitimate funds or the hacked currency, were rolled back. The free items that appeared in player inventories were removed. Ubisoft noted that a small percentage of players might temporarily lose access to some legitimately owned items, with investigations continuing for two weeks after the reopening.
The marketplace, however, remained offline as further investigations continued. This wasn’t the first time Rainbow Six Siege experienced economy-breaking issues in 2025. Back in June, a glitch involving prepaid cards led to inflated in-game currency that cost Ubisoft significant losses.
What This Means for Players
The dual crisis raises serious questions about Ubisoft’s security infrastructure. A game that’s been live for ten years shouldn’t be vulnerable to hackers gaining full administrative control. The fact that customer support staff corruption has persisted for four years despite Ubisoft’s awareness is even more concerning.
Players with Rainbow Six Siege accounts should consider changing their passwords as a precaution, even though Ubisoft hasn’t confirmed whether personal data was accessed during the December 27 breach. The company also hasn’t provided details about what specifically allowed the attack or what measures they’re implementing to prevent it from happening again.
The incident highlights a broader issue in the gaming industry where human vulnerabilities often prove more dangerous than technical ones. Social engineering and insider threats continue to plague major publishers, and outsourced customer support departments frequently become the weakest link in security chains.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I get banned for spending the free credits during the hack?
No. Ubisoft explicitly stated that nobody would be banned for spending credits they received during the breach. However, all transactions from December 27 were rolled back, so those credits and any items purchased with them were removed from accounts.
Was my personal information stolen during the hack?
Ubisoft has not confirmed whether player data was accessed during the December 27 breach. The hackers responsible for the currency distribution claim they only exploited game service APIs and didn’t access user data. However, the separate bribery scandal did involve customer support staff giving access to player information.
How did hackers get $339 trillion worth of currency into the game?
The hackers exploited vulnerabilities in Rainbow Six Siege’s backend APIs to gain administrative control. They didn’t breach databases or use the MongoBleed vulnerability as some groups falsely claimed. Instead, they reverse engineered the game services and found authentication flaws that let them manipulate the economy and moderation systems.
Are Ubisoft customer support staff still accepting bribes?
According to VX-Underground, the bribery issue persists despite Ubisoft firing staff and threatening legal action. Evidence from June 2025 shows the vulnerability still existed months before the December hack. The problem appears to be systemic rather than isolated to individual bad actors.
Is Rainbow Six Siege safe to play now?
The game is back online with all compromised accounts rolled back to their pre-hack state. However, Ubisoft hasn’t publicly explained what security measures they’ve implemented to prevent future attacks. The marketplace remains offline as investigations continue. Players should change their passwords and enable two-factor authentication as precautions.
How many hacker groups were actually involved?
VX-Underground identified five distinct groups connected to the situation. Only Group One actually performed the December 27 breach. Group Two had stolen source code but lied about how they got it. Group Three was completely fraudulent and used fake data for extortion attempts. Group Five exposed the lies and provided technical evidence of what really happened.
What happened to items I legitimately purchased during the downtime?
Ubisoft rolled back all transactions from December 27 onward. Some players may temporarily lose access to legitimately owned items, but the company stated they would continue investigations and corrections for two weeks after reopening to restore properly purchased content.
Conclusion
The Rainbow Six Siege crisis represents a perfect storm of technical exploitation and human corruption. While Ubisoft managed to restore the game within 48 hours, the underlying security issues remain largely unaddressed. The fact that a ten-year-old game could be so thoroughly compromised, combined with years of ignored insider threats, paints a troubling picture of the company’s security priorities. Players deserve better protection for their accounts and investments, especially when they’re spending real money on virtual items. Until Ubisoft implements meaningful security reforms and addresses the systemic vulnerabilities in their outsourced support structure, Rainbow Six Siege and other Ubisoft titles remain at risk of future breaches.