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is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.
Steam has taken down a game containing malware that drained the cryptocurrency wallets belonging to hundreds of players, as reported earlier by Bleeping Computer. The free-to-play 2D platformer, titled BlockBlasters, took more than $150,000 from victims, including $32,000 from a streamer raising funds for their cancer treatment.
In a post on X, malware tracker vx-underground revealed that bad actors targeted some streamers with a spearphishing campaign that attempted to lure victims into promoting the game in exchange for compensation. “Unfortunately, the Steam game was actually a cryptodrainer masquerading as a legitimate video game,” vx-underground wrote in a post on X.
As noted by Bleeping Computer, BlockBlasters first appeared on Steam on July 30th, but the game quietly added a cryptodrainer on August 30th. It was published by developer Genesis Interactive and garnered more than 200 “very positive” reviews. The malicious title mostly flew under the radar until Latvian streamer Raivo Plavnieks (Rastaland.TV), who has stage 4 cancer, said that they lost $32,000 after downloading BlockBlasters over the weekend.
Steam has removed a flurry of games that have infected Windows computers with malware, including PirateFi, Sniper: Phantom’s Resolution, and Chemia. Steam removed BlockBlasters on September 21st. The Verge reached out to Valve with a request for comment, but didn’t immediately hear back.
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