Minecraft man targeted in DDOS attack

Markus Persson’s Minecraft delight was deflated a little this week with the game’s website and distribution platform falling victim to a malicious DDOS attack.

The attack, which paralyses website operations via top-kill-style traffic surges, was rumoured to be organised by fans of the game frustrated by a lack of updates.

“Denial of Service means you occupy certain resources for a long period of time, making other people not able to use them. A real world example would be running up to the cashier at a super market and paying in small coins, counting every single one really slowly, then finding out at the end you didn’t have enough in the first place," Persson said on his blog.

"As to why minecraft.net is being targeted, I’m not sure."

Persson has signed up for a DDOS protection service and upgraded his server, and is in talks with a banking firm about making Minecraft available to buy via credit card.

Minecraft, the LEGO-esque world-builder, has proved to be an inestimably lucrative title for its Swedish one-man developer.

Upon release, the game was said to be netting its creator some $350,000 each day.

Persson, having been offered interviews at Bungie and Valve, is now setting up his own studio.