Ragnarok Online gets hacked in Japan

Ragnarok Online, a major online PC game produced by Korean company Gravity, was hacked yesterday. While the servers and character data were apparently not compromised, a number of sentences, including "All your RO are belong to Apez," were broadcast several times throughout the game's servers. This is the first time a major hack has occurred since the recent rise in popularity of online games in Japan, which began with the launch of Final Fantasy XI.

Ragnarok Online's Japanese operation agency, GungHo Entertainment, said that it is examining the situation and assured users that their private information is stored in a different server and has not been affected. In Japan, Ragnarok Online currently has more than 130,000 registered users.

Ragnarok Online has a long history of major bugs and server capacity issues. The online service also suffered a blow with the leakage of the game's Aegis server software, allowing third parties to analyze system data. The game currently operates in most regions of Asia, and an English version is currently in beta testing.