Four days after Tencent addressed the Goddess of Victory: NIKKE launcher hack, the white-hat researchers investigating it still aren’t ready to call the PC launcher safe. On November 10, MotherSphere said an independent review found unresolved security problems, including some they described as serious.
That leaves PC players in an uncomfortable position: the original malware delivery has stopped, according to the researchers, but they say weaknesses remain that could expose the launcher to another attack.
In the new post, MotherSphere, whose account currently displays the name Cadis Protocol, said they had independently reviewed whyKusanagi’s report and submitted an additional finding through the same coordinated disclosure. The technical details are being withheld until Level Infinite fixes the problems.
whyKusanagi had announced the report on November 8, saying it had gone to Level Infinite and national computer emergency response teams in Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and the United States, with a 30-day deadline for fixes.
Five Days Since the Player-Facing Security Notices
The game’s official English news page still lists its security instructions, follow-up measures, and apology under November 5. As of November 10, that’s five calendar days without a newer security notice there.
Tencent did speak afterward. In a November 6 statement reported by Inven, Level Infinite’s parent company said its investigation had found no signs that other games were affected, citing different launcher architectures. It directed NIKKE players back to the game’s official channels for security guidance.
That statement addressed fears about other titles. Players waiting to hear when NIKKE‘s remaining launcher flaws will be fixed are still getting their most specific updates from volunteers.
The Attack Stopped. The Repair Work Continues.
In a November 8 status report, whyKusanagi says the compromised files were replaced on November 3–4 and the attacker’s domain was suspended on November 5. The concern now is that remaining launcher weaknesses could allow a similar attack through another route.
The researcher recommends blocking the launcher’s embedded browser, tbs_browser.exe, through Windows Firewall while those problems remain. Their instructions say this disables launcher news, banners, and videos while allowing the game to start. It doesn’t remove an existing infection.
Anyone who used the PC launcher during the exposure window can find the checks and recovery resources in our PC infection guide. Our rolling incident tracker follows the attack’s delivery chain and the response.
Level Infinite still owes affected players answers about how many machines were compromised, what information was taken, and how the attacker gained access to its distribution files. The researchers have now added another question: when will the remaining flaws be fixed?
