Beware of the Helldivers 2 Sale Scam on Steam

Beware of the Helldivers 2 Sale Scam on Steam

• Two indie games disguised themselves as Helldivers 2 on Steam, but were quickly removed by the platform.
• Most external indicators successfully hid the games’ true identities, but the extremely discounted prices were a giveaway.
• A similar scam in the past allowed a developer to change its name and the publisher’s name to “Very Positive.”

Two indie games on Steam recently tried to scam players into thinking they were actually buying Helldivers 2. Since it launched on February 8, the third-person shooter developed by Arrowhead Game Studios has experienced unforeseen success, so much so that servers are frequently at max capacity and there are extremely long wait times to play. The problem became so extreme that Helldivers 2 players even stopped logging out to avoid having to wait in the queue again.

This resulted in Helldivers 2’s Steam rating temporarily dropping from “Very Positive” to “Mixed,” though it has since recovered. Arrowhead has already increased server capacity more than once to try to accommodate the steady influx of players, but the game’s extreme popularity has proven challenging for the indie developer.

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Of course, some people have seen the success of Helldivers 2 as a way to take advantage of unwary consumers. Early on March 1, two indie games on Steam were disguised as Helldivers 2, with most external indicators successfully hiding their true identity. The game titles, metadata, descriptions, screenshots, and even developer and publisher information was changed to match Helldivers 2. The listings were removed fairly quickly by Steam, but probably not before Figurality by developer SoleOnBoard Studio and Do Not Smile by Whithole Games lured in a few people with their $12.49 and $19.99 price tags.

How to Spot a Helldivers 2 Scam on Steam

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• Breadcrumb menu at the top of the page
• Number of reviews
• Extremely discounted price
• Incorrect release date

According to SteamDB, as shared by Twitter account Wario64, the two disguised games were both added to Steam on the same date, November 4, 2023, and their information was edited at around the same time on March 1. This strongly implies that the two games are owned by the same person.

If a similar situation arises in the future, one way to discern if the game is a fake is by looking at the breadcrumb menu above the game title on Steam. Helldivers 2 was published by PlayStation PC LLC, and so its menu trail at the top of the page should be: All Games > Action Games > PlayStation Studios Franchise > HELLDIVERS 2. The breadcrumb menus for the fraudulent games did not mention PlayStation Studios Franchise. The extremely low number of reviews were another indicator of the fake game listings, and the prices could also serve as a clue. Helldivers 2 sells for $39.99, and considering it just launched on February 8, it’s unlikely that it would receive a 50 or 75% discount.

It is somewhat alarming that Steam didn’t seem to have safeguards in place to prevent random developers from completely misleading consumers by changing key data like the developer and publisher names. And clicking on the publisher name on the fraudulent pages actually took users to the real PlayStation Studios page on Steam. The situation is reminiscent of an incident in February 2021, when the developer and publisher names of Emoji Evolution were both changed to “Very Positive” to dupe customers. The developer behind that scam was promptly banned from Steam.

Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 is a third-person cooperative shooter developed by Arrowhead Games Studios for the PC and PlayStation 5 where players take control of a Helldiver set to protect the citizens of Super Earth by traveling to hostile alien worlds and destroying threats. Players undergo missions, defeat enemies, and use special items called Stratagems to help turn the tide of battle in this punishing release.

FranchiseHelldiversPlatform(s)PS5, PCReleasedFebruary 8, 2024Developer(s)Arrowhead Game Studios ABPublisher(s)SonyGenre(s)ShooterMultiplayerOnline Co-OpESRBM For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence See at AmazonSee at Playstation StoreSee at Steam