Playasia, the Hong Kong-based online store known for imported games and collectibles, has taken its website offline. In a message posted to the company’s account on Thursday, October 22, CEO Jan Neuhäußer said the shutdown is temporary while the company completes a full security audit.
“After weeks of increasingly sophisticated and relentless attacks against us and several of our trusted partners, we made the decision to go dark while we complete a full security audit and harden our systems,” he wrote. “This is not a step we take lightly.”
A coordinated campaign, the CEO says
Neuhäußer said the attacks are not random. Based on comments in the attackers’ own source code, he wrote, Playasia is listed as “one numbered goal among tens of thousands of other targets,” which he called “a coordinated, systemic campaign, not something aimed only at Playasia.” As IGN reports, he said the company has reported everything to authorities and cybercrime units worldwide. He also spoke about the strain on staff who have been working around the clock, and promised customers that the store will return. “We will be back,” he said.
Playasia has not said when the site will be back online or whether any customer data was affected. It is asking customers to follow its social channels for updates.
Why it matters for collectors
Founded in 2002, Playasia has been a go-to for physical releases that never get a Western retail launch, including region-exclusive and Asian English versions of console games. Losing it, even briefly, leaves import collectors looking elsewhere for pre-orders.
The shutdown comes during a rough week for online security. Many companies took systems offline to patch newly disclosed PHP vulnerabilities, but IGN notes there is no evidence that Playasia’s decision is tied to that issue. It follows other outages hitting fans of Japanese games, including the manga store Comic CMOA, which stayed offline after a member data leak. For now, Playasia customers can only wait for the store’s return.
