The virtual shelves of Steam have just become the latest battleground in Helldivers 2's fight against Terminid and Automaton scum. The only difference is that the other side isn't fighting fair.
Fake listings of Helldivers 2have infiltrated the industry-leading platform, casting yet another shadow over the success of Helldivers 2, a game that has captivated players with its sci-fi co-op shooter experience.
The fraudulent activity came to light as multiple suspicious listings, posing as Helldivers 2 and offering significant discounts, emerged, duping players into purchasing games that weren't the much-acclaimed title they expected.
The indie game Figurality was one of the first to alter its storage page to mimic the hit PlayStation exclusive, even writing Helldivers 2, even listing Arrowhead Game Studios and Sony as its developer and publisher, respectively. This move was part of a deliberate scam to exploit the game's popularity by offering a steep 75% discount. Players quickly realized the deception and alerted Arrowhead, which promptly issued a warning on the official Helldivers 2 Discord server. Valve, Steam's parent company, responded swiftly by delisting the game within hours of being notified.
However, Figurality wasn't alone in this deceptive practice; others followed suit, adding a sense of urgency to the situation. Steam's refund policy provides relief to those who had purchased the falsely advertised games, but the ease with which these scams occurred highlights a significant vulnerability in Steam's system.