HBO says app crashing during House of the Dragon premiere may have been linked to Amazon devices

House of the Dragon debuted its first episode on HBO and HBO Max Sunday night. And in a major throwback to the days of Game of Thrones, when HBO GO would regularly crash beneath the stampede of bloodthirsty cable cutters, multiple folks had a problem with HBO Max.

The problem, according to HBO, might've been... Amazon. Specifically, Amazon's Fire TV.

"House of the Dragon was successfully viewed by millions of HBO Max subscribers last night. A small portion of users attempting to connect via Fire TV devices had issues and we worked directly with impacted users to get them into the platform," a spokesperson for HBO said in a statement to EW.

Amazon later acknowledged the tech issues and now says they have been resolved. "There was an issue with the HBO Max app which affected a small number of users attempting to watch House of the Dragon on a subset of Fire TV devices," a spokesperson for the company told EW. "We've worked with HBO to resolve it, and HBO has pushed out a fix resolving the issue."

The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report the statement.

Ollie Upton / HBO; Matt Grace/Prime Video Is Amazon the secret, inadvertent culprit behind HBO Max crashing during 'House of the Dragon' premiere night?

The initial comments on social media support HBO's statement. Various individuals reported issues with the HBO Max app on Fire TV.

The funniest part of all this is that Amazon will soon be the home of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, its own high-budget blockbuster fantasy series that has been in an uneasy dance with HBO's House of the Dragon for some time. Questions persist as to whether people will watch both shows simultaneously or gravitate to one over the other. If you're a glutton for genre, this is the kind of conundrum you've probably been craving.

Amazon and Cinemark just announced this weekend that they will be screening the first two episodes of The Rings of Power in movie theaters starting Aug. 31 — a few days after the second episode of House of the Dragon hits HBO on Aug. 28. Previously, the streamer announced it would change up its premiere rollout, with The Rings of Power sharing its first two episodes on premiere day, Sep. 1. This change allows the show's finale to air before House of the Dragon's.

So, did the home of The Rings of Power inadvertently sabotage House of the Dragon's big night? The streaming wars rage on.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:

• The fire before the blood: House of the Dragon starlets make their marks on Game of Thrones

• House of the Dragon series premiere recap: We need to talk about the Targaryens

• Breaking down that prophecy in the House of the Dragon premiere — and its connection to Game of Thrones