Summary
- Valve removes PirateFi from Steam after the developer uploaded builds that contained suspected malware.
- Emails sent to players urges anyone who has launched the game on Steam to run a full system scan.
- PirateFi only peaked at 5 concurrent users, which suggests only a small number of players were likely infected.
Valve has removed a malicious free-to-play title from Steam after the game’s developer “uploaded builds that contained suspected malware.” The game in question is PirateFi, which was released on Steam on February 6 before being taken down by Valve less than a week later. While only a handful of people appear to have launched PirateFi, Valve has begun contacting players with a warning that their computers have likely been infected with malicious files.
While the Epic Games Store continues to give away free games and attract new users regularly, there’s no denying that Steam remains the most dominant platform for PC users searching for the best PC games around. The storefront has been around since 2003 and was originally developed as a software client to provide new updates for Valve’s games. Since then, Valve has expanded the platform tremendously, with the majority of triple-a titles and indie games also now on Steam. Back in July 2024, Steam even broke its own record for concurrent users with nearly 37 million active users at one time.
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Malicious Steam Game Taken Down By Valve
While Steam users can access many of the best indie games and triple-a titles, it does appear that the occasional scam game can slip through the cracks. As reported by SteamDB, Valve has taken down PirateFi, a supposed survival game that offered players the chance to explore the sea, fish, and embark on new adventures either with friends or solo. The title was developed and published by a studio known as Seaworth Interactive, with it being the only game from the developer. Unfortunately, it looks like this relatively unknown title was designed with the intent of infecting users’ computers with malware. Those who launched the game should have received an email from Valve that urges them to run a full system scan as they may be infected with malware.
According to the SteamDB page for PirateFi, the game only peaked at 5 concurrent players during its short lifespan, which means the number of users infected is likely relatively small. However, the game’s community page does have various posts and negative reviews from players urging others not to download the title. One user said it “ran [their] Steam wallet dry,” claiming that the game wouldn’t even start when they attempted to launch it but a few days later they noticed their account had been compromised as somebody was using their wallet funds to purchase Dota 2 skins. Another user urged players to change their passwords as most of their accounts had been hacked due to PirateFi.
It’s unclear if the malware in PirateFi slipped through Steam’s approval stage or if the game was simply updated with malicious files after it was made available on the platform. The email being sent to players suggests it was the latter, as Valve says the developer “uploaded builds to Steam that contained suspected malware.” Unfortunately, incidents like this are becoming all too common for PC players. Last year, some Cities: Skylines 2 players were also infected with malware after a popular mod was updated with malicious files. Paradox Interactive apologized to players and urged fans to secure their systems immediately.
Steam
- Brand
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Valve
- Original Release Date
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September 12, 2003
- Original MSRP (USD)
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N/A
- Weight
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N/A