Steam Experiences Major Outage on Christmas Eve, Users Affected
On December 24, 2023, Steam, the popular digital distribution platform for video games, experienced a significant outage that left users unable to access its services. The disruption began shortly before 2 PM ET, with reports indicating that the Steam store, community, and web API were entirely offline. The unofficial Steam Status website confirmed websocket errors, suggesting that this was not a routine maintenance issue.
User activity on the SteamStat page surged, reflecting widespread concern among gamers. This spike in traffic often indicates that users are seeking information about ongoing issues. As of now, Valve, the company behind Steam, has not issued an official statement regarding the cause of the outage. The situation is being monitored closely, and updates will be provided once services are restored.
Possibility of a DDoS Attack
The outage comes on the heels of a previous incident on December 23, when Steam faced intermittent downtime. Some analysts speculate that today’s issues may be part of a larger cyberattack, specifically a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack targeting multiple gaming companies, including Xbox, PlayStation, and Riot Games. Such attacks can overwhelm servers with traffic, rendering them inaccessible to regular users.
As holiday gaming peaks during this season, many players rely on platforms like Steam to access their favorite titles. The timing of this outage, just before Christmas, is particularly frustrating for users hoping to enjoy their time off.
In light of these recent developments, gamers are advised to stay informed through official channels and community updates. The PC Gamer team will continue to monitor the situation and report on any changes as they occur.
