AWS Outage Cripples Major Apps and Websites, Recovery Underway

A major Amazon Web Services outage disrupted popular apps and websites. The incident occurred on October 20, 2025. It primarily affected the US East 1 region.

Services like Snapchat, Roblox, and the PlayStation Network experienced widespread issues. According to the BBC, the outage caused significant internet disruptions for many users.

Widespread Impact on Gaming and Social Platforms

The outage impacted a significant portion of the internet. Downdetector, an outage tracking service, recorded a massive spike in reports. It received nearly four million complaints, far above its daily average.

Many popular video game services were affected. The list included Fortnite, Pokémon Go, and Epic Games. Users reported problems with server connections and loading feeds.

Root Cause Identified and Recovery Efforts Accelerate

Amazon identified a potential root cause. The issue involved error rates for DynamoDB APIs in the US-EAST-1 Region. The company stated it was working on multiple paths to accelerate recovery.

Later updates confirmed significant signs of recovery. Amazon noted that most requests should then be succeeding. The firm also mentioned working through a backlog of queued requests.

The AWS outage highlights the critical reliance of modern digital services on cloud infrastructure. Its rapid resolution was crucial for restoring functionality to millions of users globally.

Thought you’d like to know

What caused the AWS outage?

Amazon identified a potential root cause linked to error rates for its DynamoDB database APIs. The issue was isolated to the US-EAST-1 Region, a major hub for cloud services.

Which apps were most affected?

Major platforms like Snapchat, Roblox, and the PlayStation Network were hit. Popular games such as Fortnite and Pokémon Go also experienced significant disruption.

How long did the AWS outage last?

The disruption lasted for several hours. Amazon began reporting significant recovery signs by late morning on the same day.

Was the entire internet down?

No, the outage was primarily confined to services relying on the AWS US East 1 region. Many global users outside this specific infrastructure zone were unaffected.

What is AWS?

AWS, or Amazon Web Services, is a leading cloud computing platform. It provides the backend infrastructure for a vast number of websites and online applications.