Cheaters force Ark dev's pirate MMO Atlas offline for a second time in less than a week Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Cheaters force Ark dev's pirate MMO Atlas offline for a second time in less than a week Illicit spawns blamed on "technical exploit". News by Matt Wales Reporter Updated on 21 Jan 2019 33 comments Grapeshot Games, an offshoot of Ark developer Studio Wildcard, has been forced to takes its pirate MMO Atlas offline for a second time in less than a week, following yet more shenanigans from cheaters - who this time spawned in drakes and hijacked official in-game server messages. Late last week, Grapeshot elected to shut down its Atlas servers and instigate a rollback of more than five hours after cheaters, believed to belong to player group Black Butterfly, caused havoc by spawning the likes of tanks, giant whales, and airplanes into the pirate game. The studio later claimed the incident was a result of an admin's Steam account being "compromised", and that it had "taken the appropriate steps to ensure this does not happen again." Unfortunately, while Atlas' downtime and server rollback initially appeared to resolve cheating issues, it wasn't long before more antics ensued. As documented in a thread on the official Atlas subreddit, a second wave of illicit activity saw unscrupulous players seemingly using cheats to spawn drakes and giant whales (a few of which were spotted floating forlornly through the air) into the game. Additionally, cheaters managed to seize control of the server's status message, encouraging players to "Subscribe to Pewdiepie" before announcing "Black Butterfly strikes again". To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings All these events were captured during a livestream by Atlas clan (or Company, in game parlance) StreamerHouse. Grapeshot reportedly responded quickly once notified, taking its official network offline for "emergency maintenance" in order to investigate the issue and roll back North American PvP server world states by around three hours. In an official statement posted to the Atlas website, assistant community manager Dollie blamed the second wave of cheats on a "technical exploit". The studio insisted that, unlike last week's events, "no administrator accounts were compromised in this situation". It also offered assurances that it has now "protected against" the new technical exploit, and that "multiple accounts have been banned in relation to this". Additionally, the developer attempted to quell speculation as to the identity of those responsible, claiming that "the evidence and our extensive logging indicates that this group does not have any specific ties to any one company, but are instead targeting streamers and large or well-known companies." "We will continue our investigation and will take action on all involved accounts and companies when we learn of their involvement immediately," Grapeshot concluded. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 5 Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 11 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Sennheiser's legendary HD 599 open-back headphones are just £70 at Amazon in the Prime Early Access Sale Comfortable with neutral sound and a wide sound stage. Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. 1 Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store