Two of Nintendo’s most popular games, Splatoon and Mario Kart 8, were recently taken offline due to security concerns—and there’s no telling when they will come back online. The games were taken down late last night and the company has implied that it might be days before the games come back.
The issue likely concerns an exploit called ENLBufferPwn, which allows a person to take over someone’s console and alter the console’s code just by playing an online game with their victim. The same exploit was recently used on the 3DS and the Switch, which were then patched to prevent the issue from popping up again.
Now, the exploit has moved on to the next console, the Wii U. The Nintendo Maintenance site says the devs have identified “vulnerabilities with online play” and that the temporary maintenance has already begun.
“We expect an extended maintenance duration while we address these issues and have not determined when online play will resume. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding,” the site reads.
Players who were enjoying the two games that were taken offline will likely have to wait a few days since the company said the maintenance period will be “extended.” There’s no current timeline on when the games will come back online. The maintenance website just says the status of the service is “ongoing.”
This extended maintenance comes at a bad time for Wii U players since the 3DS and Wii U eShops will be going down in just a few weeks. On March 27, both shops will be discontinued, and players will no longer be able to purchase games on the systems. Players will still be able to redownload games and DLC, apply software updates, and play online, but the eShop will effectively be non-existent after March 26.
