Updated — Dec. 26, 9:14 p.m. ET
Xbox Live and PlayStation Network — online game delivery platforms operated by Microsoft and Sony — were out of service for most of Christmas Day, just as people were receiving the systems as gifts.
By late Friday, PlayStation was still down. Xbox came back online, but some functions were sill not working, according to the Associated Press.
Our engineers are continuing to work hard to resolve the network issues users have experienced today. Thanks for your continued patience!
The problems started as early as Wednesday, and both companies acknowledged on Thursday that their services were having issues.
We're aware that some users are having issues logging into PSN - engineers are investigating
We're aware users are having issues logging into XBL & are actively working to resolve. Please visit http://t.co/99xfLNN0o8 for updates ^JX
A hacking group that goes by the name Lizard Squad has taken credit for disabling the services.
Xbox Live #offline
The group claimed it downed both networks with denial of service attacks, meaning that they overwhelmed Sony and Microsoft's servers with traffic.
Lizard Squad took credit in August for other attacks on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live, Variety reported.
At the beginning of the month, the group said it would carry out an attack on Christmas, calling themselves "next generation Grinch." The Lizard Squad Twitter account was disabled around 7:15 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Microsoft and Sony have not yet responded to the hackers' claim.
Sony is still struggling to recover from a major hack to its Sony Pictures subsidiary, which U.S. officials said was caused by North Korea in retaliation for the Sony film The Interview. Sony originally decided not to screen the film, but at the last minute changed its mind, releasing it to select cinemas and online streaming services, including Xbox Live.
The timing is also particularly bad for both companies, with Christmas Day a popular time for people to use the services on their day off or play with newly-gifted PlayStations and Xboxes.
Many people shared their disappointment on Twitter:
The hackers who stole xmas. #Xboxlive is down for the count. http://t.co/p5Euxrkp90
I’m all about Righteous Hacks, but taking down PSN/XBox Live is killing Xmas for the kids #HaveAHeartGuys
So Xmas night, saw family, eat good food but because PSN is still down I have to talk to my husband Not cool at all
Sony bit the big one for Xmas. PSN has been down all day and Destiny won’t even load without it. New PS4 is useless so far.
When u get a ps4 for Xmas but #psn is down 😥😥😥 @TheGamer2323 @MrAbelGreen lol
However, some disappointed players did display a touch of self-awareness.
At the risk of ending up on a BuzzFeed list of spoilt people, XBox Live being down is really dampening my Xmas spirit.
On Friday, the hackers sent a tweet to say they've moved on to a new target.
To clarify, we are no longer attacking PSN or Xbox. We are testing our new Tor 0day.
Lizard Squad said they will now target Tor, a network that helps users stay anonymous online.
While Tor is not a widely used as Xbox and PlayStation, it is used by a various people who wish to remain anonymous online, including whistleblowers. Tor prevents people from learning a user's location and browsing happens, according to its website.
Tor is able to keep users anonymous by routing activity around a large network of computers known as 'nodes.'
According to Nadim Kobeissi, a computer programmer, Lizard Squad has claimed almost half of Tor's relays.
Calls to Tor were not immediately returned.
There's a total of ~8,000 Tor relays - @LizardMafia now owns almost half of them. Big implications on Tor anonymity. https://t.co/6RhTLqDS2p