Introducing Hack The Box Seasons: a new way to test your hacking might

Points and Badges earned on HTB improve your public Rank, which ultimately testifies to your technical skillset in cybersecurity. Our classic scoring system, however, is based on the total number of Active Machines, Challenges, and Labs you've completed. 

This means hackers with a long history of activity on the platform have naturally earned higher rankings (and recognition) via the classic HTB Hall of Fame. Our new competitive mode, Seasons, allows players to compete over 13 weeks from a common start to see who can claim the top spot. 

New and experienced HTB players will now enjoy an opportunity to receive recognition, rank, and prizes for: 

1. Displaying the hottest (current) hacking skills across the globe.

2. Aggressively pushing their individual hacking skills to the limit and setting new personal records. 

HTB Seasons: Compete against the best, or against yourself!

A Season will be a defined timeframe over which a number of Machines will be released. Each Machine will be live as part of the Season for one week. After that week, the Machine will still be playable as an Active Machine, but solving it will not generate points for the Season.

The first beta Season will start March 4, 2023, and run until June 3, 2023, to include 13 Machines released each Saturday at 19:00 UTC. Once released, you’ll only be able to earn points on the Season scoreboard from that Machine up until the next week (15:00 UTC the following Saturday). Players who solve the Machine after the first week will still earn points on the classic HTB Hall of Fame, but not towards the season.

Within a Season, there are two ways to track progress, the tiers and the scoreboard. All players will start each season with zero points, and as Machines release and you hack your way to user and root flags, you’ll advance on both.

At the end of the season, there will be prizes for top players as well as for reaching different tiers!

Leaderboard: You vs. the hacking community 

The leaderboard is where the competitive heat crescendos into intense hacker-hacker competition. It’s how you’ll measure yourself against the other hackers on Hack The Box. Every player starts each season with zero points, and then earns points for flags submitted based on the type and difficulty of the flag:

The first person to submit each flag will get the “first blood” bonus.

Tiers: Measure personal progress and push yourself 

Tiers are here to help you measure progress against yourself. All players start each season as Bronze. Then as you submit flags while a Machine is live, you’ll climb to higher tiers as follows:

For example, if a season has 13 Machines, and therefore 26 flags, submitting 17 flags will get you to the Platinum tier (17 / 24 = 65.4%). User and root flags count equally, as do flags from all Machines that season, regardless of difficulty, as long as they are submitted during the competitive week.

Prizes: Up to $300 in HTB gift cards, custom swag, and more every season

The big prizes will be based on the leaderboard position at the end of the Season, with gift cards, custom swag, and a trophy for the top five finishers! There are also prizes for all players who reach various tiers during the Season.

FAQ

What’s changing about the old way of doing things?

For the most part, no changes. The most recent 20 releases will still be active Machines, contributing points towards the old Hall of Fame and Hacker rank. Solving a Machine during its “season week” will give points for both the Season and in the old Hall of Fame. Once a Machine finishes its “season week” in the Season, it will go to the active Machines tab on Hack The Box just like today. And just like today, there will be 20 active Machines (the one active for the season plus 19 more), with one retiring each week.

Who is Seasonal Mode for?

Seasons will be a very competitive environment for the best hackers in the world to compete to be atop the scoreboard. At the same time, newer players will have a chance to compete against themselves by claiming flags and climbing the tiers.

Is one week long enough to solve each machine?

This is part of the reason we’re releasing this first season as a beta test. We want the Machine lifetimes to be short enough that they aren’t spoiled by leaks, but long enough that people get a chance to compete. 

Will seasonal Machines be available on Release Arena?

The general experience will be the same. Release Arena provides players with their own instances of Machines on Saturday through Wednesday after release. This will now be available to all players (even free accounts) through the seasonal interface. Seasonal Machines will still be available in free and VIP shared labs, and via VIP+ individual instances as well.

Where do I go to play the new Seasons?

Expect to see pages on the site a few days before the first release, including a link to the season overview page, and a scheduled release for the first Machine.

What about challenges?

For now, Seasons will not include Challenges, Endgames, Fortresses, only Machines. We have ideas for adding different kinds of Seasons that could include challenges based on how these initial Seasons go.

Are seasons available in the Enterprise Platform?

You’ll be able to play the Machine as an active Machine, but to get points for the initial beta Season, you’ll have to submit the flag via the seasonal page on the public website.

Will Seasons be available on the old website UI?

Seasonal play will only be available on app.hackthebox.com.

Are teams allowed?

The scoreboard will be individual only, but players are allowed to collaborate in teams. Sharing of solutions publicly is still prohibited until the Machine entirely retires from being active.

Remember: The first beta Season will start on March 4, 2023. Keep an eye on your HTB app homepage for further updates!