Secret Neighbor, the multiplayer spin-off of the 2017 horror game Hello Neighbor, was taken offline after an attacker reached its backend systems and deleted player data. Developer Hologryph and publisher tinyBuild set out what happened in a Steam post, reported by PC Gamer on August 29 via delistedgames.
According to the two companies, an individual obtained credentials carrying admin access to the game and used them to wipe player profiles, in-game progression and other data, in what they described as a “coordinated attack on our server systems and infrastructure” across all platforms. PC Gamer reported that the incident occurred the week before its report.
The attacker's stated aim went beyond the data. Hologryph and tinyBuild said the individual “stated they intend to continue targeting the game and its backend systems until the game is removed from sale across all platforms”.
What the studios said
The companies said no personal data or information had been compromised. With the incident still ongoing when they wrote, they said they had opted to “temporarily shut down the game until we had addressed the breach and closed any vulnerabilities that may have led to the incident”.
The studios said they had alerted the relevant authorities and were working with PlayFab, which provides Secret Neighbor's backend services, to recover the wiped data. They gave no timeframe for the game's return, and at the time of the statement Secret Neighbor was still listed and available to purchase on Steam. The companies said they would keep players updated “on our progress and how the situation unfolds going forwards”.
The Hello Neighbor line
Secret Neighbor released in 2019. The following year tinyBuild invested $3 million in Hologryph and became its majority stakeholder, a few months after acquiring Dynamic Pixels, the developer of the original Hello Neighbor. A sequel to Hello Neighbor arrived in 2022, and PC Gamer reported that a third game is apparently in development. The first game recorded its highest peak concurrent player count in March this year.