'Crab Game' a Big Hit on Steam; But Streamers Warned Over Possible Hacking Attack on 'Squid Game' Knockoff

Several fans on the internet should be familiar with "Squid Game" rip-offs. However, one of the most notable recent adaptations is the multiplayer game "Crab Game." Unfortunately, popular streamers who tried the game recently fell victim to DDOS attacks.

YouTuber and programmer Daniel "Dani" Sooman is notable for his radical game adaptations. He is best known for developing the popular survival game "Muck." More recently, he took up the challenge to recreate the popular Korean Netflix series "Squid Game." In his 14-minute YouTube video, Dani said: "let's make an entire multiplayer game with proximity chat and nine game modes and 30 maps in two weeks."

'Crab Game' Steam: Free-to-Play 'Squid Game' Knockoff

Dani was pretty successful with his knockoff game. "Crab Game" was developed using game development software Unity, Steam multiplayer tools, free animation, and other internet resources. "Crab Game" is available for Windows PC on Steam. It is also available for Mac and Linux via Itch.io.

According to Polygon, the game was a big hit on Steam, with more than 30,000 players in less than a week. On Twitch, it had 20,000 viewers, putting it ahead of streams like "PUBG Battlegrounds," "Rocket League" and "Overwatch."

"Crab Game" was officially released on October 29. At the time of writing, it got 92 percent positive reviews out of its 13,925 commenters in Steam. It also ranked "#49 Trending for Games" on YouTube. Regrettably, the exciting game encountered a few issues.

'Crab Game' Leaks IP Address: Potential DDOS Attacks

According to GamesBeat, popular streamer xQc recently fell victim to potential DDOS attacks. It disconnected him from the internet during his stream with "Crab Game." xQc speculated that his IP address got stolen by a "random." He apologized to his fans for the inconvenience.

Dani confirmed the issue in a public statement on Twitter. Because of DDOS exposure and risks, he warned streamers to stay away from "Crab Game" public lobbies for a few days. He also apologized to the victims.

For reference, DDOS stands for "distributed denial of service." It is a cyberattack where malicious actors that operate on the network spam and overwhelm their target with fake traffic. This is an increasingly common issue for streamers and gamers.

Dani explained that the game was built on "Facepunch Steam P2P," which is generally a fast and good platform. But apparently, it is also unsecure and could potentially leak user IP. Dani said he's changing the code to secure Steam Networking, but it might take a few days.

For now, interested gamers are recommended to sit and wait for Dani's official update, possibly on Twitter, for the fix. Gamers can still play the "Crab Game," however, they should do so at their own risk.