Gamers were frustrated by the Christmas DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack on Xbox Live, thanks to the "Grinch" hacking group – the Lizard Squad.

"Xbox Live service is limited," the official website's support page said.

As of this moment, all services are up and running according to Microsoft. But, overall service is not completely restored online. There are three apps that are still experiencing downtime including IGN, Maxim and MLG.TV.

"Are you having a rough time signing in to Xbox Live? We're working to get this figured out right away. We appreciate your patience," a Microsoft service alert noted.

Lizard Squad has claimed responsibilities on several hacking incidents that rendered Sony's PlayStation Network online in several occasions this 2014. The group also announced that they have attacked both Xbox Live and PlayStation Network on Christmas Day.

The group, however, said that the attack has stopped and thanked Kim Dotcom for the vouchers and MegaPrivacy's "awesome service".

"Thanks @LizardMafia for stopping attack on XBOX Live & PSN. Let everyone play with their Xmas gifts. Your Mega vouchers have been approved!" Kim Dotcom tweeted.

It is quite odd that the ex-king of online piracy has "saved Christmas for gamers" by bribing the notorious hackers, Lizard Squad.

Kim Dotcom (Kim Schmitz) is a German-Finnish file-sharing mogul that established the now defunct Megaupload file hosting service. He rose to internet prominence in the 90s as a self-proclaimed hacker and tech entrepreneur. His Hollywood-like arrest in his New Zealand mansion in 2012 became viral.

According to reports, his copyright infringing website Megaupload was accused of stealing $500 million from the entertainment and music industry by uploading multitude of pirated content. The website has more than 150 million registered users worldwide.