Games: What Is A DDoS Attack & How Does It Work?

Worried about Malicious attacks? Check out our guide to find out what is a DDoS attack in gaming and how to protect yourself.

You might have heard about the servers of your favorite video games getting hit by DDoS attacks. Due to these attacks, Blizzard, Respawn Entertainment, Square Enix, and other gaming publishers are always in the news. In turn, popular games like Destiny 2, Overwatch 2, Apex Legends, and Final Fantasy go offline and are disconnected. But what are DDoS attacks in Gaming? And is there a way to secure yourself from these attacks? Check out our guide to find out.

What Are DDoS Attacks and How do they work in Games?

A DDoS attack means Distributed-Denial-of-Service Attack and is a Cybercrime. These attacks are caused by populating or trafficking the target network or server’s bandwidth to overwhelm its usual service. Once the DDoS attacks are hit, their services are affected and go down. The main motive for these groups or a single individual is to flood the servers with requests to block the normal bandwidth used by users. To simplify, it is like malicious traffic blocking normal users from using the highway or the service (video game). But how do these attacks happen?

what is a ddos attack in gaming
Image Source – PowerCert Animated Videos on YouTube.

Here are all the ways DDoS attacks can occur:

  • As DDoS attacks generally breach the VoIP services and the game servers, your IP address can get exposed. You can be prone to these attacks if your IP Address gets exposed.
  • You will be unable to connect to the affected game.
  • DDoS attacks can affect you on all platforms. This includes PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.

So, is there a way to secure yourself from these malicious attacks? Scroll till the end to find out.

How to Protect yourself?

The easiest and best way to protect yourself from DDoS attacks is by using a VPN. Although using VPN doesn’t guarantee protection from the game servers, it is the best way to hide your IP address. Several third-party VPN services can protect you from exposing your IP address. You can also use VPNs on your consoles for protection against these attacks. You can set up the installed VPN to protect your internet router rather than simply one or two devices.

That’s everything covered about the DDoS attacks in gaming and how to protect yourself. If you liked this guide, check out our more helpful Video Gaming Guides right here on Gamer Tweak.