Epic Games 2016.0 Data Breach
ObscureIQ Breach Intelligence
Low SeverityWebsite / service breach
Epic Games Developer Forum Breach (2016): 252K Community Accounts Exposed via SQL Injection
Video game developer and publisher.
Verified by ObscureIQ Intelligence
8/100Breach Risk Index
3Data Value
10Market Recency
3530dSince Breach
Breach Intelligence Summary
Entity: Epic Games · Actor: Unknown · Sources: 6 references
Attack: Web Application Exploit
Profile: Company · Video game development and distribution · Game studio and platform ecosystem · Global
Timeline: Breach (2016-08-11) · Indexed (Nov 07, 2016) · Year (2016.0)
Exposure: 252K records · 3 fields: Email Address, Password, Username
Status: Confirmed
Executive Summary
In August 2016, the Epic Games forum was breached via a SQL-injection vulnerability in vBulletin, exposing about 252,000 accounts including usernames, email addresses, and passwords stored as salted MD5 hashes. This affected forum accounts, not core game/Fortnite accounts.
ObscureIQ assessment: Exposure enables account takeover, fraud, phishing, and harassment. Platform scale, payment linkage, and developer ecosystem ties also increase downstream targeting value.
Breach Impact
Salted MD5 is crackable, exposing reused forum credentials; scope is limited to the community forum.
About Epic Games
Epic Games is the developer behind Fortnite and Unreal Engine; the affected system was its community forum.
Why They Hold Your Data
Game-platform ecosystems collect player accounts, emails, purchase history, device identifiers, friend relationships, developer records, and gameplay activity across gaming and distribution workflows.
Data Points Exposed
3 verified field types
Email Address
Password Critical
Username
Field names are shown in full for clarity and search visibility. Canonical machine keys are emitted only in this page’s structured data.
Exploitation & Downstream Threats
Threat Activity:Low
Primary downstream threats:
- Credential stuffing against reused passwords across other platforms
- Targeted phishing campaigns using exposed email addresses
Threat vectors:
- Phishing, credential stuffing & account takeover
- Credential stuffing & account takeover
- Cross-platform tracking & credential stuffing
Recommended Actions
If you believe your information may be included:
Change Reused Passwords
Update this account and anywhere you reused the password; use a manager.
Enable MFA Everywhere
Turn on multi-factor authentication on email first, then financial accounts.
Report & Recover
If you spot misuse, start an official recovery plan and report fraud.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened in the Epic Games breach?▾
In August 2016, the Epic Games forum was breached via a SQL-injection vulnerability in vBulletin, exposing about 252,000 accounts including usernames, email addresses, and passwords stored as salted MD5 hashes. This affected forum accounts, not core game/Fortnite accounts.
What data was exposed?▾
Verified fields include Email Address, Password, Username.
What should I do if I was affected?▾
Change reused passwords, enable MFA, and (if identity or financial data is involved) freeze your credit and monitor your accounts.
Sources & References
Every claim on this page is traceable. This breach draws on:
Breach Index
Cross-source
BreachForums_Official_Index
Cross-source
Keeper
Cross-source
Leaked.Domains
Cross-source
leakfind
ObscureIQ Intelligence
ObscureIQ proprietary analysis
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