Two Japanese games responded differently to critical PHP fixes: World Quest closed Oct. 21, while the operator of 僕の魔界を救って！ announced a shutdown, citing possible risks to player data.
An emergency-maintenance notice preceded the operator’s closure announcement by about one hour and 44 minutes. The operator announced it at 9:41 p.m. ET on Oct. 21 (01:41 UTC Oct. 22). It described the server setup, operating system and PHP environment as difficult to protect, and a move to new infrastructure as impractical. It warned that continued operation could endanger player data.
In 2024, the operator said it planned to stop holding events and make the game’s final story map available. It also cautioned that service could end if its physical server failed, since repairs would be difficult.
The World Quest operator cited legacy architecture that left the game without a workable way to add adequate safeguards. On Oct. 21, it announced the shutdown at 10:21 a.m. ET (14:21 UTC), roughly 21 minutes after PHP published the fixes. The game went offline that day.
GREE hosted World Quest’s debut on March 31, 2011. After a 2019 shutdown, the title resumed service in May 2020.
The PHP updates address two critical vulnerabilities that could allow remote code execution on exposed servers without an account. The fixes cover PHP versions 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 and 8.2.35. EconoTimes previously covered the fixes for two critical PHP vulnerabilities.
