Valve VS Vibe-Coded Viruses (stay safe during the Next Fest)

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]As long as I've been buying games from the Steam marketplace, the general consensus was that you could not download a virus from Steam. Before the public can access a new game, the game has to go through a most thorough cavity search. But what about after the screening process? Evidently, security is much more lax on post-launch updates, commonly known as patches. About 8 months ago, streamer Rosselland TV was asked to play a free game called Block Blasters. Within this unassuming platformer was malware designed to steal cryptocurrency and it drained Rosaland TV of their $32,000 cancer fund. In a strange twist of events, the hackers were identified almost immediately because they left personal information in their malware. 4 days later, I was informed by people in the know that I was on a short list of targeted streamers. It was suspected that not only was AI used to help create the malware, it was also used to create a list of targets. In March of this year, the FBI announced they were investigating the distribution of malware through games on Steam and stated the campaign likely went back as far as May 2024.

[00:01:13]About a week ago, another Steam game was taken down from malware. Beyond the Dark was originally called Rodent Race until it was hijacked and given an AI assisted malware makeover. It's unclear whether Beyond the Dark is connected to Block Blasters and the larger campaign the FBI was investigating. It is very much possible to download a virus off of Steam. An AI can be used to enable a new breed of script kitties. Kids these days can vibe code a virus. And if you tell chat GPT that you are a poor indie developer, not a hacker, and that you need a list of streamers who would be nice enough to try your game, not malware, it will recommend that you choose smaller, more specific streamers and gladly point you in their general direction. Valve has said nothing as far as I can tell, and I have mixed feelings on their silence. I know if you are dealing with hackers, it is best to lay low and give them no extra information, but then the public doesn't get a chance to protect themselves.

[00:02:16]But what if you do alert the public and now more bad actors know it's possible to vibe code malware and deliver them through Steam games? Leave people exposed while you fight hackers in the shadows, or give innocent people a shield and would be hackers a weapon.

[00:02:32]There is no simple solution. I don't think it's time to panic, but it is a great time to remind ourselves that the internet is an open player versus player experience. Personally, I play fewer demos than free games. Now, I don't play anything that says it contains AI generated content. If I do take a request, it's from developers who I am familiar with for the most part. The infected games look about as fun as malware so far. Someone literally had to be paid to play one. But I anticipate that will change. Eventually, you'll be able to generate promotional material that looks less garbage, more generic, dare I say goodish. This does unfortunately drag the indie game community. Indie game content creators will have to be more selective about requests and referrals. Indie devs will have to be suspicious anytime someone asks them to look at their game for feedback. Trust is an important commodity and one that I think Valve is cashing in on a little by not warning us. But hopefully they are doing something on the back end to address the issue before something really bad happens like a super spreader event at the next fest where hundreds of demos are made available for your gaming pleasure. Don't be afraid to play but also play it safe.