.hack
Is .hack a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.hack is contested: 3 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list, as of 7 October 2026. They are Identity Digital, Oinkadot and Link Freedom Group. Automattic named .hack as a backup string for its .robot application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.
A playful pick for hackathons and developer culture, but the word's cybercrime edge keeps most serious brands from living on it.
hackathon organizers, developer communities, and indie builders who want a punchy phrase domain (think life.hack or growth.hack); security-adjacent brands are more likely to use it for campaigns than as a primary identity
In LFG's published list of 300+ strings submitted before the ICANN window closed on 2026-08-12. Their catalog tagline: “Solutions that surprise.”
One of 25 strings the Oinkadot partnership (Ray King of Porkbun and Todd Han of Dynadot) applied for in the ICANN 2026 round, per Domain Name Wire's exclusive.
Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .robot application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup
The 2012 applications making the most similar bet. Chosen by AI from every string in that round, without being told what happened to any of them.
Same bet: an edgy, self-applied insider badge drawn from tech-adjacent slang, sold open to individuals and small shops who want the label as their identity rather than a category descriptor, and it works only if the tribe reads the word as flattering.
Same bet on a subculture's own name as a namespace, where registrants are members claiming membership, so value rests entirely on whether a community with strong internal identity relocates its primary identity onto a TLD.
Same bet on a slangy competence badge people apply to themselves for personal branding in a broad open registry, though it lacks the transgressive edge and the defined community that narrow .hack's adoption case.
What a .hack domain is
.hack is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, in our Culture category. 3 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list.
Is the .hack domain extension real yet?
.hack is not yet a domain extension you can register: nothing resolves under it, and no registrar sells names in it. It is a string applicants have put forward in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, the process that decides whether it becomes one.
When can you buy a .hack domain?
You can’t yet. A .hack name can only be registered once the string is delegated (added to the DNS root) and its registry opens. Last round's closest parallel to .hack was .ninja, delegated on 28 December 2013.
Is .hack a real TLD?
Not yet. .hack is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because .hack is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list of applied-for strings. Every entry on this page links to its source.
- Automattic · first recordedICANN
- Identity Digital · first recordedICANN
- Oinkadot · now confirmedICANN
- Link Freedom Group · now confirmedICANN
- Oinkadot · first recordedDomain Name Wire (Andrew Allemann)
- Link Freedom Group · first recordedLink Freedom Group
“AM2619T-T50862 · Acid Medal, LLC · primary · contention set 2026-105 LFGL2683T-T81905 · Link Freedom Group Ltd · primary · contention set 2026-105 OI2692T-T85687 · Oinkadot Inc · primary · contention set 2026-105”ICANN
“AM2619T-T50862 · Acid Medal, LLC · primary · contention set 2026-105 KKWT2621T-T94110 · Knock Knock WHOIS There, LLC · replacement string of .robot · Deactivated LFGL2683T-T81905 · Link Freedom Group Ltd · primary · contention set 2026-105 OI2692T-T85687 · Oinkadot Inc · primary · contention set 2026-105”ICANN
“A new partnership has applied for 25 top level domain names in this year's ICANN TLD expansion round.”Domain Name Wire (Andrew Allemann)
“.hack · Culture · “Solutions that surprise.””Link Freedom Group
- Band chosen: 30-49 (usable but limited). The string has genuine cultural pull in developer and maker circles, and it completes common English phrases cleanly, which should drive real registration volume on novelty and campaign use over the next 5 years. It is not in the 50-69 band because sustained primary-identity use is speculative: the word carries a strong cybercrime connotation alongside its playful one, and enterprises, mainstream brands, and possibly reputation filters are likely to treat addresses on it warily, which caps serious end-use and keeps the aftermarket thin. It is not in the 10-29 band because demand is broader than a one-note joke: hackathons, dev-community projects, and phrase-style registrations give it multiple recurring buyer pools rather than a single event-driven spike. Applicant context: the string is announced by Link Freedom Group, which filed more than 300 strings in the ICANN 2026 round and published its list ahead of Reveal Day (per Domain Name Wire, 2026-08-13), listing this string under category Culture with the tagline "Solutions that surprise."; a large-portfolio applicant suggests a volume-oriented go-to-market rather than a single-string flagship push, which fits the novelty-registration profile. Main market uncertainty: whether the dual meaning resolves in favor of the playful hacker-culture reading (lifting it toward a niche standard for hackathons and dev projects) or the criminal reading (pushing it toward pure vanity use), since renewal behavior and brand willingness hinge on that perception.