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A Cloud Breakdown That Shook the Gaming World

Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud giant that powers much of the internet, suffered a major outage earlier this week, taking down dozens of apps, platforms, and online games, including several esports titles.

On October 20, 2025, reports of widespread connection failures poured in from around the world. Players were unable to log into their favourite games, esports platforms went dark, and even social media sites used by gaming communities experienced disruptions.

The cause? A technical error deep within AWS’s infrastructure, one that revealed just how reliant modern gaming has become on cloud technology.

What Exactly Happened?

According to AWS, the outage began around 07:11 GMT, when an update to DynamoDB, one of Amazon’s key database services, went wrong. The faulty update disrupted the Domain Name System (DNS), the mechanism that directs apps to the correct servers.

When the DNS broke down, apps couldn’t find their servers, causing widespread disconnections. In total, 113 AWS services were affected before the company managed to restore operations a few hours later.

Although the system is now back online, AWS noted that it’s still processing backlogged data, and some users might experience slower connections or login queues.

Esports and Gaming Platforms Hit Hard

The outage didn’t just take down corporate sites or banking apps, it hit the gaming world right where it hurts.

Supercell’s popular mobile titles Clash of Clans and Clash Royale went into maintenance mode after players reported being unable to log in. “Supercell ID logins are temporarily unavailable due to an external outage,” the developer confirmed on social media.

Meanwhile, the Epic Games Store was down for several hours, blocking players from accessing Fortnite and Rocket League. The PlayStation Network was also affected, limiting access to multiplayer titles and digital libraries.

Although no major esports tournaments were taking place during the outage, competitive communities felt the shock as matchmaking services and online lobbies went dark. Even Reddit, a key platform for esports news and fan discussions, struggled to stay online.

The Bigger Picture: How Dependent Is Esports on the Cloud?

The incident underscores just how central AWS and similar cloud platforms are to the global gaming ecosystem. From server hosting to data storage and authentication systems, nearly every aspect of esports relies on cloud infrastructure.

When AWS falters, so does a massive portion of the industry. As Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony told Al Jazeera, “The fallout impacted people across a number of different spheres… The key is they can resolve it quickly, and it doesn’t cost them a lot of money.”

And for Amazon, the damage may be more reputational than financial. AWS still commands roughly 30% of the global cloud market, a dominance unlikely to waver even after this setback.

When Will Everything Be Back to Normal?

AWS said it has fully resolved the core issue and that most affected services are now operational. However, players may continue to face intermittent issues while login systems and databases catch up with the backlog.

The company has also promised to release a full post-event report explaining the incident in detail, likely including what went wrong during that DynamoDB update and how it plans to prevent a repeat.

For now, gamers and developers alike are reminded of one uncomfortable truth: when the cloud goes down, so does nearly everything else.