A free-to-play game called Economy World landed on Steam’s New Releases chart on April 25. Within hours, both of its user reviews said the same thing: it asks for your Steam password.

The game, listed under developer “GameCode,” presents itself as a real-time strategy simulation about supply and demand. Grain production, mining, bakeries, car factories — the kind of unthreatening tycoon fare that fills out Steam’s free-to-play catalog. But according to two players who each logged roughly 12 minutes before uninstalling, launching the game opens a separate window requesting Steam account credentials.

“Immediately asks for Steam login credentials upon loading,” wrote one reviewer. “I wouldn’t trust this one folks.”

The second was more direct: “I shouldn’t have input my Steam account info on a separate window if I’m playing the game through Steam. Makes it look like you’re trying to steal my account.”

Neither review has been disputed by the developer. At time of writing, Economy World has zero positive reviews out of two total, and one concurrent player. It remains listed and downloadable on the Steam store.

The pattern fits a documented problem on Valve’s platform. The FBI’s Seattle division is currently investigating a string of malware-laden Steam games — including PirateFi, which stole browser cookies, and BlockBlasters, which drained an estimated $150,000 in cryptocurrency from victims. In a statement to PCMag, Valve said it had “removed those builds from Steam, investigated the incidents, and cooperated with law enforcement.”

That response has historically been reactive. Games like PirateFi and BlockBlasters operated on the storefront for days before removal. Economy World appears to be following the same trajectory — present, charting, and one bad decision away from a compromised account.

Don’t download it. And if a game you already launched through Steam asks you to log into Steam again, close everything.

Sources