Another Steam Game Gets Removed Over Malware
Overview & Key Takeaways
Another title on Steam has been exposed for unleashing malware on unsuspecting buyers and removed by Valve. But the twist this time is that a popular YouTube account helped expose the game in question.
YouTuber Eric Parker shared a video (via Insider Gaming) that illustrated how the free-to-play survival-horror game Beyond the Dark was set up to steal data from players. As laid out by Parker, the malware was hidden in a file called UnityPlayer.dll. Steam subsequently removed Beyond the Dark and the game is no longer on the platform.
In a further twist, PCGamesN notes that Beyond the Dark was originally uploaded to Steam in December 2024 under the name Rodent Race, which appears to have been an entirely different game. Earlier this month, Rodent Race was apparently replaced by Beyond the Dark, which PCGamesN theorizes was done in order to bypass any security checks from Valve.
Another title on Steam has been exposed for unleashing malware on unsuspecting buyers and removed by Valve. But the twist this time is that a popular YouTube account helped expose the game in question.
YouTuber Eric Parker shared a video (via Insider Gaming) that illustrated how the free-to-play survival-horror game Beyond the Dark was set up to steal data from players. As laid out by Parker, the malware was hidden in a file called UnityPlayer.dll. Steam subsequently removed Beyond the Dark and the game is no longer on the platform.
In a further twist, PCGamesN notes that Beyond the Dark was originally uploaded to Steam in December 2024 under the name Rodent Race, which appears to have been an entirely different game. Earlier this month, Rodent Race was apparently replaced by Beyond the Dark, which PCGamesN theorizes was done in order to bypass any security checks from Valve.
Earlier this year, the FBI announced a criminal probe into games on Steam that were infected by malware. The bureau invited members of the public to come forward with any information they had about the crimes, and the announcement appeared to suggest that the infected games came from the same suspect or suspects.
Although Valve previously announced security measures on Steam that were designed to prevent malware from being spread, there were some notable instances of it happening in the last year. A streamer alleged that one of those infected titles stole money from the funds he was using for his cancer treatment.
The FBI's investigation is ongoing, and any player who downloaded infected games from Steam between May 2024 and January 2026 has been asked to fill out a form on the FBI's site.
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