Helldivers 2 is the talk of the town, cementing its place in Steam’s top ten most-played games this week. Naturally, everyone wants the shooter, and you might be surprised to see a sale so soon after release. After all, it’s less than a month old. Well, if it’s too good to be true, then it’s probably a scam.
Steam briefly had three versions of Helldivers 2 listed. One is full price, and that one’s legit. The other two were on sale, and those two were very much not. These were different games pretending to be the chaotic, over-the-top shooter. One is actually called Figurality, a point-and-click puzzle game from Bside Studio. The other is Do Not Smile, which you surely wouldn’t do after a scam like this.
Wario64, who’s a monolith of the industry for sales and information, spotlighted the issue on Twitter. They stated that, “No, Helldivers 2 is not 75%/50% off on Steam. Someone else is using a different game and renaming it exactly like a Helldivers 2 listing as a scam.” As the replies point out, Steam has protective measures in place to prevent this issue. Unfortunately, these systems mostly focus on new games and not changing existing listings.
The wildest thing about this is the level of control developers and publishers have over their pages. Altering the description and screenshots is one thing. Changing the game name, developer name, publisher name, and mimicking an entirely separate company is another. Sure, companies rebrand and relaunch, but to freely swap names like it’s a user Steam profile is a head-scratcher. Valve needs better protection to avoid anything like this from happening again.
If you bought one of these Helldivers 2 mimics, make sure you refund it. Valve gives you a 14-day window to return games played less than 2 hours. The company might even waive those restrictions in the face of an actual scam. Since these policies are in place, it makes you wonder what the point of trying a scam like this is. After all, you’re just going to get your money back regardless. Here’s hoping the developers don’t cut and run before Steam has a chance to swing the hammer.
Fortunately, it looks like Valve has already taken action. We’re back to one true Helldivers 2, and I can’t see Figurality or Do Not Smile on the platform. Still, make sure you tell any of your friends and family to be wary and check web pages linked to the game just in case.
