Valve removes suspicious demo video game from Steam

Valve has removed a game titled "Sniper: Phantom's Resolution" from its online store Steam after multiple users reported that the demo installer infected their systems with information-stealing malware.

Developed by Sierra Six Studios, the game was initially offered as an early preview with a planned release in the coming months.

This incident marks the second time in a month that Steam has hosted a malicious game. 

Earlier, the "PirateFi" title was used to distribute the Vidar infostealing malware, which was downloaded by up to 1,500 users.

According to an archive of the Steam page, the demo game promised to give players realistic, first-person shooter mechanics, dynamic storytelling, and high-stakes missions.

However, before the game was pulled, the developers warned users about potential security risks associated with downloading the game from external websites.

Many players grew suspicious of the game after noticing that assets and descriptions had been copied from other titles.

Moreover, they were prompted to download the demo installer from an external GitHub repository, rather than the Steam platform.

Following the reports and subsequent removal of the game, the developer's website has been taken offline.

Steam has also advised users who installed the game to uninstall it immediately and run a full system scan to remove any remaining malicious files.