Hackers take down Apex Legends servers over cheating problems

Olivia Richman Published 05/07/2021

In an attempt to “save Titanfall,” hackers decided to hack Apex Legends on Sunday.

Respawn Entertainment’s popular free-to-play battle royale has been plagued by hackers and DDoS attacks as of late. A new wave of DDoS attacks struck in May, which was acknowledged by Respawn. The cheating has been so bad recently that a pro player even got #SaveApexRanked to trend in late June. Despite a response from developers, players haven’t seen any improvements in the past few weeks.

This led to a group of hackers taking down Apex Legends servers over the weekend. Players started reporting that game modes from Firing Range to Arenas were no longer available. Some game modes even directed players to a website called Save Titanfall. This happened in multiple regions.

“Titanfall is a beloved franchise by many, and hacker issues have been at rise. The Titanfall community has been begging Respawn to fix this issue for over three years, but to no avail. Today this game is still being sold, while being completely unplayable. It’s time we speak up,” the home page reads.

Save Titanfall seems to be focused on Titanfall 1, which the website calls “unplayable” due to hackers and exploits. They even stated that selling Titanfall in its current state is “fraud” since it doesn’t work as advertised. The biggest issue, however, is that they feel Respawn is pretending to be oblivious to the ongoing concerns.

Since the worldwide hack, the website, run by a team called Operation Red Tape, has stated that the Apex Legends hacks are not associated with the website. But it appears that the hackers have felt that Apex Legends, as a game taking place in Titanfall’s universe, is part of the ongoing issue with Respawn’s alleged unwillingness to not deal with cheaters. It’s the latest Titanfall game to be riddled with these kinds of issues.

Respawn Entertainment addresses Save Titanfall hack

Respawn Entertainment responded to the numerous complaints caused by the extreme hacking incident. According to developers, the hack did not put player account information at risk. After about four hours, Respawn came back with a solution.

“We’ve confirmed that matchmaking has been restored. We’re keeping an eye on things but believe the issue to be resolved. Thanks for your patience, legends,” the team tweeted.

A hack of this magnitude would need access to Apex Legend’s playlist file, which is a list of game modes. Tampering with this file would allow the hacker to display different text. The hack was definitely on a large scale and required some serious know-how.

For the inconvenience, many Apex Legends players have demanded heirloom shards, the rarest currency in the game. Respawn did not respond to these requests.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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