Recently, the developer of DeadPoly ran a “Free Weekend” promotion on Steam, during which anyone interested could check out this zombie survival project. Soon, he faced an unusual problem—he began being blackmailed using the mechanics of Valve’s store.
Certain perpetrators began review-bombing DeadPoly on Steam. They left negative reviews and accused the developer of allegedly embedding a cryptocurrency miner in the game to profit off players’ PCs. Soon, those behind the campaign reached out to the developer and began blackmailing him.
These people suggested pushing propaganda:
So basically, on Friday afternoon, fake reviews claiming that the game mines cryptocurrency started flooding in. They gained attention very quickly, and a day later, a certain group contacted me. Its representatives claimed they would delete these reviews if I added messages supporting their political agenda to the game and its store page.
The developer did not give in to the blackmailers’ demands and publicly refused: “I have no intention of giving them a platform to spread their ideas.” He hopes to bring others’ attention to this issue.