The Binding of Isaac’s co-op alpha test has been taken permanently offline ahead of a full release for the online mode, because someone was datamining the roguelike game and “ruining it for everyone else.” This means all testing for the online mode is permanently closing until release, which is expected towards the end of 2024.
The Binding of Isaac is a true classic. The roguelike game came out all the way back in 2011, but the enduring fanbase has seen multiple expansions launch in the years since. This has helped birth Isaac’s upcoming co-op mode, which has had to fully close any alpha and beta testing for players because someone tried to datamine the game.
“PSA: The online alpha/beta of [The Binding of Isaac Online] is going offline until further notice due to someone datamining the game and ruining it for everyone else,” executive producer Tyrone Rodriguez tweeted earlier this month, as reported by Rogueliker.
Rodriguez then goes into detail explaining exactly why The Binding of Isaac’s online alpha was taken down, saying that the team’s “tests need to actually be tests” in a thread.
“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,” Rodriguez adds. “We know Isaac fans want to play Isaac online but the team need our tests to actually be tests and we’re internally looking into the best way to do this. If the Isaac dev team can’t get the reports and feedback they need, it doesn’t make sense doing a public beta. This is the reason the team decided to take down the most recent test build.”
A moderator on The Binding of Isaac Discord says that the beta will be closed permanently for the online mode, with the full release expected for those who own the Repentance expansion towards the end of 2024.
So that looks to be the end of it. Now we’re just going to have to wait for The Binding of Isaac multiplayer instead of at least being able to test it.
If online The Binding of Isaac sounds right up your street, we’ve put together some great co-op games and indie games you’ll want to check out while we wait for it to come back online.
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