Given the limitless waterfall of rubbish that arrives on Steam, it’d appear to be you’ll be able to add and promote completely something on the storefront. Nevertheless, there are meant to be some verification checks in place to stop probably the most egregious examples of nefarious content material from reaching the platform—it’s simply it doesn’t all the time work. Therefore BlockBlasters, a Trojan-Horse 2D platformer that launched as an harmless recreation, earlier than being up to date such that it may begin draining gamers’ crypto wallets. And tragically, this was found throughout a livestream fundraiser for a streamer with stage-4 most cancers.
As reported by Bleeping Computer, BlockBlasters went on sale on July 30 as one more 2D platformer on Valve’s industry-dominating PC retailer. However a month later, on August 30, the game was updated with a couple of zip files, which seem to have contained malware that allowed the sport to empty gamers’ crypto wallets.
The “game” was clearly launched as free, to tempt as many individuals into looking as potential. Nevertheless, according to SteamDB it appears BlockBlasters solely managed to draw a really small variety of gamers. Estimates present it as having had below 7,000 downloads, whereas concurrent participant counts by no means exceeded a desultory eight. That may have sucked when you’d poured your coronary heart right into a platformer, however clearly that wasn’t the plan right here from first-time (and presumably last-time) builders Genesis Interactive.
It was solely when streamer Raivo Plavnieks (RastalandTV) was running a fundraiser to assist elevate cash to deal with his stage-4 sarcoma that the merciless nature of the malware turned obvious. Somebody tuned in and inspired crypto fanatic Plavnieks to obtain BlockBlasters, when the extraordinarily sick man watched $32,000 drain from his funds. “My life was saved for whole 24 hours,” the streamer wrote on X, “untill someone tuned in my stream and got me to download verified game on @Steam.” (Please be warned that the video clip embedded within the publish is especially upsetting.)
For anyone questioning what’s going on with $CANCER reside stream… my life was saved for entire 24 hours untill somebody tuned in my stream and obtained me to obtain verified recreation on @Steam
After this I used to be drained for over 32,000$ USD of my creator charges earned on @pumpdotfun and… pic.twitter.com/8YH4njd46E— rastaland.TV (@rastalandTV) September 21, 2025
“I can’t breathe, I can’t think,” the Latvian gamer added. “im completely lost on what is going to happen next, can’t shake the feeling that it is my fault that I might end up on street again or not have anything to eat in few days.”
Nevertheless, in line with Bleeping Laptop, what occurred subsequent is a rallying from different crypto varieties, with crypto influencer Alex Becker posting to X to say he’d despatched Plavnieks $32,500 to cowl the losses.
I’ve despatched $32,500 to cowl this to your new protected pockets. Better of luck to you my good friend. <3.@rastalandTV
Receipt beneath.
— Alex Becker 🍊🏆🥇 (@ZssBecker) September 21, 2025
BlockBlasters was faraway from Steam on September 21, the identical day because the stream, presumably after a flood of ensuing experiences. Nevertheless, it exhibits severe weaknesses in Valve’s retailer that malware can so simply be added to video games. Earlier this yr a web3 “game” referred to as PirateFi was stealing Steam accounts, and it’s simply one other of many examples.
As a rule, the most secure possibility is to take no half in your entire crypto rip-off within the first place. Put your cash in a financial institution, or disguise it below your mattress, however not within the felony underworld that’s cryptocurrency. And if something is marked as “web3,” keep away from it just like the plague it’s.
