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Akamai Edge DNS outage causing Steam, PSN, Xbox Live, & internet issues [UPDATED]

A recent DNS server incident has everything from Steam, PSN, and Xbox live to Apex Legends and Call of Duty experiencing internet service outages.

TJ Denzer

July 22, 2021 10:23 AM

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Updated (July 22, 2021 @ 10:23 a.m. PT): According to the Akamai Edge DNS website, the incident that was affecting its services has been "mitigated" as of 10:09 a.m. PT / 1:09 p.m. ET. And so the issue has been marked as resolved. Indeed, Steam, PSN, and Xbox Live have also seemingly resolved issues and resumed services.

Original Story: You might not think that one website and service experiencing issues could have an effect on a vast stretch of internet services and gaming, but that appears to be exactly the case today. Many PC users noticed that Steam was down, as well as experiencing issues on platform internet services like PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. Live service games like Call of Duty and Apex Legends also seemed to be affected and after some panic, the common thread seems to be a DNS issue at a service known as Akamai Edge.

This issue took place on July 22, 2021, and is still ongoing as of this writing. Even finance group services like Fidelity and Century, internet services like AT&T, shopping services like Amazon, and package services like FedEx and UPS were affected. It all seems to point back towards the Akamai Edge DNS service, which is currently experiencing server issues according to its website.

Oh boy, the internets are having a Very Bad Day right now. I think the common element is Akamai? pic.twitter.com/Jkqn3P20pH

— disaster prevention chihuahua (@mendel) July 22, 2021

It’s certainly alarming that so many services from a myriad of sectors could be knocked out of service for so many folks in relation to issues at a single group, but that very much seems to be the case. Akamai Technologies handles global content delivery, but also specializes in cybersecurity and cloud services. It’s a company behind the scenes producing a standard service that you probably wouldn’t hear about if it wasn’t currently experiencing issues. It also appears to be a rolling server outage. While some areas are experiencing outages, others may not, which is why you likely won’t see these issues on the usual pages like Steam server status.

Stay tuned as we continue to follow this issue and the latest updates on the Akamai Edge DNS outages and issues.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.