Legendary roguelike The Binding of Isaac has its multiplayer tests taken offline after impatient fans hacked their way in

The original developers of The Binding of Isaac are working on building an online multiplayer version of the legendary roguelike, but testing has been stalled after players hacked their way into unfinished modes.

In a recent tweet (via Roguelikers) executive producer Tyrone Rodriguez said that alpha tests of the 'Isaac Online' had been taken offline because "someone took it upon themselves to hack the online version to play other modes." Each month, testers had the opportunity to play the game, including a rotating game mode. In this instance, however, the hacker got around the current mode, "and shared how to do this hack with other players."

Someone took it upon themselves to hack the online version to play other modes, circumventing Greedier (this month's test rotation) mode and shared how to do this hack with other players.February 5, 2024

Rodriguez goes on to explain the impact of a hack like this: "We know fans want to play Isaac online but the team need our tests to actually be tests." If players are finding their way into modes that aren't actually being tested, then their presence in the alpha becomes dramatically less valuable - "if the Isaac dev team can't get the reports/feedback they need, it doesn't make sense doing a public beta."

Its presence in alpha means that Isaac Online is likely still some distance away, and incidents like this certainly aren't helping it get into the hands of regular players any quicker. The good news is that fellow Isaac creator has a new game on the way soon - Mewgenics is a roguelike strategy game filled with cat-breeding and Isaac-style humor, and developer Edmund McMillen says he thinks it "will be seen as my best work."

The best roguelike games might have some new competition soon.