Fake Helldivers 2 Games Briefly Appeared On Steam, But Have Since Been Nuked

Fake Helldivers 2 games appeared on Steam this week, attempting to trick people out of their cash when they decided to purchase the popular game developed by Arrowhead. The studio and its growing community quickly caught wind of these scams, and it wasn't long before the fake listings were deactivated by Valve. While at least one of them is still up, the purchase options are not available.

"People posting as us trying to scam people is obviously very sad and frustrating, and for that as well as for security reasons we urge you to stay clear of them," Arrowhead's community manager wrote on the game's Discord server (via Eurogamer). "Again, the only two Helldivers 2 products we market are Helldivers 2 and Helldivers 2 Super Citizen Edition."

Another way to be sure that you're getting the real deal is to check the release date, developer, and publisher details on the Steam page for Helldivers 2 or its Super Citizen Edition. If it doesn't mention the correct launch date of February 8, Arrowhead as its developer, and PlayStation as its publisher, then it's a phony. It's not hard to see how people could have been caught out by the listings, as they are very convincing copies of the original game hub.

One of the games, originally titled Figurality, had its Steam page altered by its owner to look like a very convincing listing for Helldivers 2, something that has raised concerns for Valve's policies and how a developer can change their Steam page to such an audacious extent.

This isn't an issue unique to Helldivers 2 either, as Pocketpair's community manager revealed how Palworld has also been targeted by scammers:

The good news is that even if you do find yourself bamboozled by a cunning listing, Steam's refund policy allows you to claim your money back provided you played for less than two hours or haven't owned the game for more than two weeks. Developers also added that Steam is very quick to act when emailed about copycats.

In other Helldivers 2 news, it looks like playable mechs will be added to the game soon, just in time to continue the fight for managed democracy against the Automaton and Termanid hordes. One of the biggest hits of 2024, Helldivers 2 is the best Starship Troopers experience since the 1997 film, although some of us want to see it riff on that classic film even more.