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Last week, the typically kid friendly MMO called Wizard101 turned into a real minefield of vulgar server messages. Players that were online on Friday, September 16 saw several server-wide messages that included jokes, swearing, and even complaints about the poor pay at developer KingsIsle. That fact that only KingsIsle staff should have access to this broadcast system and the messages about poor pay led many to believe that the messages were being sent from a very disgruntled employee.
Some of the offending messages shared last week included statements like "dick and balls" and "This game is shit." Then there is the fan-favorite one that said, "The next world is my boss's asshole." Truly, some very chilling phrases. KingsIsle quickly took the servers offline to investigate into the matter.
As it turns out, the messages did not originate from a KingsIsle employee, disgruntled or otherwise. The studio announced this week that it believes "an external party initiated the messages through a non-traditional method of accessing the Broadcast System."
KingsIsle has since brought the servers back online with some additional security measures in place. They have also announced that from now through the end of the month they are offering all players access to the paid/premium membership bonuses through the rest of the month.
The company's full statement can be read below.
Community,
This past Friday the Broadcast System of Wizard101 was illegally accessed to post inappropriate messages in-game as if they were written by a KingsIsle employee. We sincerely apologize for the unacceptable statements making their way into the game and causing disruption of your gameplay. We take great care in ensuring Wizard101 is a family-friendly game and feel disheartened when someone finds a way to disrupt that experience.
The incident was quickly identified, and steps were immediately taken to halt the behavior. We turned off the Broadcast System and have added additional security measures to ensure this won’t happen again. At this time, we believe that an external party initiated the messages through a non-traditional method of accessing the Broadcast System. No other systems were accessed.
Considering the incident has soured your celebrations of the birthday month, we want to close out September with a bang. From now until the end of the month, we are enabling all Member Benefits and granting Membership to all players. Both will be enabled for EU players as well.
Thanks to everyone for your patience and support as we resolved this unfortunate incident.​
This past Friday the Broadcast System of Wizard101 was illegally accessed to post inappropriate messages in-game as if they were written by a KingsIsle employee. We sincerely apologize for the unacceptable statements making their way into the game and causing disruption of your gameplay. We take great care in ensuring Wizard101 is a family-friendly game and feel disheartened when someone finds a way to disrupt that experience.
The incident was quickly identified, and steps were immediately taken to halt the behavior. We turned off the Broadcast System and have added additional security measures to ensure this won’t happen again. At this time, we believe that an external party initiated the messages through a non-traditional method of accessing the Broadcast System. No other systems were accessed.
Considering the incident has soured your celebrations of the birthday month, we want to close out September with a bang. From now until the end of the month, we are enabling all Member Benefits and granting Membership to all players. Both will be enabled for EU players as well.
Thanks to everyone for your patience and support as we resolved this unfortunate incident.​
