Minecraft multiplayer is down thanks to a DDoS attack which is apparently being carried out by a group of Minecraft fans who are dissatisfied with the way creator Markus Persson is handling the game.
Minecraft is a pretty amazing thing. You can build a full-scale replica of the NCC-1701D with it. You can make a working computer with it. You can recreate Andrew Ryan's underwater utopia with it. But what you can't do, for the moment at least, is log into your account or hook up to multiplayer servers. The reason is simple: The hub at
Minecraft.net has been getting pounded by a DDoS attack since yesterday afternoon.
"I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but
minecraft.net appears to be suffering some kind of attack, and is down at the moment," Persson wrote on his personal blog. "I'm working on fixing it."
About an hour later, he reconsidered, noting that the
Minecraft.net host was down as well and saying that it could be a more widespread error on the net. But after another hour, he confirmed that it was in fact an attack. "SYN flood, apparently," he wrote. "I've learned a lot today."
Persson said he has no idea why Minecraft would be targeted but whoever is responsible appears determined to cause some serious havoc. "I got some great help from the people running the Minecraft forums, and then my server host confirmed it was a DDoS attack," he told Giant Bomb. "We fixed the initial attack, but then a larger one started."
One possible and rather bizarre explanation explanation came to light earlier today: Disgruntled fans. According to a post on 4chan (via Kotaku), a group of Minecraft players want to "send [Persson] a message" and force him to deliver promised updates by bringing down the site and disrupting his sales.
Minecraft is currently experiencing a stimulation provided by us.
It's purpose is to send Notch a clear message of how the future of minecraft will turn out unless he gets to work, namely by influencing the amount of sales taking place, due to the attacks.
Start providing your customers with the updates that you promise them.
We have roughly 83,000 bots available, and preserved for this seizure, we could if we wanted to keep this going for weeks, however we have decided to give it a week, and see whether or not your attitude, and commitment will change, we believe it will when money stops rolling in for the time being...
anyhow, no we're not from roblox, or any other minecraft clone, not to mention none of us have been around 4chan for years, and nor has any real 4channers for that matter, its all newfags now, and has been for quite a few years.
Whether or not the statement is authentic can't be verified, but the collective vindictiveness of gamers who feel they're owed something and being denied is a powerful thing. Whatever the reason, I'm hopeful that Minecraft will be back in all its glory as soon as possible, and I'd also like to say something to the people responsible for bringing it down: You guys aren't fans. You're just a bunch of dicks.
