BYOND Engine Hit by Weeks-Long DDoS Attack

Game devs from the early 2000s will definitely know about the BYOND game engine. It was free and was the creation site for games like Space Station 13. A report from Massively OP says it’s also been subjected to a continuous DDoS attack—and as of now, this is the third week that it’s been under attack.

Why Is BYOND Being Targeted?

The question is: why would somebody launch a DDoS attack against this really old game engine that only fans of said engine still use? Well, there’s a now-deleted Reddit post that could have answered the question. It said a group calling itself, quote, “The International Free and Open Source Software Community,” is doing it to put pressure on the creator of BYOND, LummoxJR, to make the software open source.

In a trying-too-hard-to-sound-cool voice, this is what the attackers had to say:

“Attacks on BYOND servers are a symptom of your obstinance. They will persist as long as you ignore the voices of those who keep your platform afloat. We demand you voluntarily side with progress… Choose: let BYOND die as a proprietary relic, or let it rise as a free project. Time is running out.”

Now it’s uncertain whether this is a legitimate claim, but it doesn’t sound like a good reason to keep up with a continuous DDoS attack. But for the internet, there’s a 50/50 split of determining whether this is an actual true thing.

Still No End in Sight

There was a Reddit thread that popped up not long after the attacks began titled, “What kind of maniac DDoSes BYOND?” with users trying to figure out possible motives. Most of them landed somewhere in the realm of: “some guy got mad on the internet.” A tale as old as online time that always ends in “How old are you?”

LummoxJR joined the thread and implied they’re not entirely sure what the real reason is either, writing:

“I’ve heard a rumor as to how this started, and it doesn’t really involve BYOND; it was just a grudge between someone and a server that escalated.”

Updates and Community Response

Whatever started it, this thing is still ongoing. That means the BYOND website remains inaccessible, as the latest update to the DDoS downtime megathread shows. Mitigation efforts are still underway, but there’s no real ETA for full restoration.

A separate thread created on May 23rd by LummoxJR simply read: “Still dealing with the thing.” They closed it with a more hopeful message:

“I know the current situation has pushed a lot of us into closer contact than normal, and in many ways that’s a good thing. But there have been some folks coming into new spaces hot—especially thinking they have a new idea that actually isn’t new. I know it comes from a good place. Let’s just all remember to show each other a little extra leeway and respect.”

Here’s hoping we’ll see an endpoint to all of this. But who’s to say?