Crackdown on multiple Helldivers 2 scams and clones

Two games tried to imitate Helldivers 2 on Steam recently, and imitated the developer Arrowhead, while setting their publishing label as PlayStation.

Both of these games copied the Helldivers 2 storefront, and added some enticing discounts to trick players into buying them. Furthermore, one title went on a 50% discount, while the other went down to a very high 75% discount to try and attract more players.

A note promptly went around on the Helldivers 2 Discord, where they clarified that the only legitimate versions of Helldivers 2 are Helldivers 2 and Helldivers 2: Super Citizen Edition with the correct release date of 8th February.

A user on Reddit shared a statement from Steam Support "Unfortunately, fake versions of the games were uploaded to Steam, that shared the same name as popular games on Steam. You purchased one of these fake games. We have banned the company that published them and refunded your purchase.” said the Steam employee.

Steam has banned the company and handed out refunds to all the players who were tricked into purchasing the fake Helldivers 2 clones. However, this raises several other questions about the intent of the scammers.

Helldivers 2 is an incredibly popular game that has been breaking gaming trends, and with mechs on the way, the game could soar to even greater popularity. Players have been plagued with slow queues that have forced them to wait for hours on the loading screen, which can use up all of their refund window.

Those who can't skip through the queues, were targeted by the scammers in hopes that they won't notice they've been scammed till the refund window finishes. However, even if they were successful, Steam holds the money and the scammers can't walk away with it without providing credentials.

This led to further speculation by the community that the Helldivers 2 clones might have contained some sort of malware of spyware. While no proof of this nature has been found yet, it's a reminder to always stay vigilant when purchasing or downloading software online, even from large stores like Steam.