Earlier today, two indie games on Steam were pretending to be Helldivers 2 in an attempt to trick players into purchasing them.
Social media was abuzz with news that two fake versions of Helldivers 2 were for sale on Steam, with prices discounted to $12.49 and $19.99.
However, SteamDB revealed that both games were actually existing indie titles, but the developer had changed all the details to mimic the popular game from Arrowhead Game Studios.
SteamDB’s records show that both games were altered around 11.50pm ET / 4.50am GMT, with their titles, descriptions, screenshots, and even publisher and developer information modified to match Helldivers 2.
The two games were Figurality by SoleOnBoard Studio and Do Not Smile by Whitehole Games, both released on November 4. The timing and similarities suggest that the same person may be behind both deceptive listings.
The fake games were removed from Steam shortly after being discovered, but they were available in their altered form for about three hours before being taken down.
The fact that these games could be so heavily modified, with the publisher name changed to ‘PlayStation PC LLC’ and linked to the official PlayStation Steam page, raises concerns about security on the platform.
Helldivers 2, the legitimate version, has been a hit on Steam with a peak of 458,709 players. Arrowhead boss Johan Pilestedt mentioned that the studio can now focus on improving the game and creating new content after resolving server issues.
“Now we have time to focus on improvements to the title and resume our original plan,” said Pilestedt. “Many exciting things upcoming.”
