People Playground Steam Workshop disabled after developer warns of malicious mod
GG Brief Editorial Desk · AI-assisted, source attributed
Developer Mestiez reported that People Playground's Steam Workshop was disabled after a "malicious mod" distributing malware was discovered, Rock Paper Shotgun reported. The developer's Steam post, published Sept. 22, urged anyone who ran the game with mods between 6PM and 8PM CEST on Sept. 21 (5PM–7PM BST) to run antivirus scans. Mestiez also told players not to start People Playground until the developer announces it is safe to do so, and described the offending mod as "especially bad," Rock Paper Shotgun wrote. Rock Paper Shotgun framed the incident as a repeat problem for the game this year and noted the Workshop has "disappeared again," per the developer.
- What happened: Rock Paper Shotgun reported developer Mestiez disabled People Playground's Steam Workshop after a "malicious mod" that peddled malware was found.
- Why it matters: The developer asked anyone who used mods between 6PM and 8PM CEST on Sept. 21 (5PM–7PM BST) to run anti-virus scans and warned players not to launch People Playground until they say it's safe, Rock Paper Shotgun reported.
- Context: Rock Paper Shotgun reported the developer's Sept. 22 Steam post said the Workshop has "disappeared again" and described this as another malicious-mod incident for the game this year.
- What next: The developer has said they will announce when it is safe to run the game again; no timeframe for that announcement or for re-enabling the Workshop was provided in Rock Paper Shotgun's report.
What changed
Rock Paper Shotgun reported that developer Mestiez disabled the People Playground Steam Workshop after identifying a "malicious mod" distributing malware. In a Steam post on Sept. 22 the developer warned the mod was "especially bad" and advised caution.
Timeline
- Sept. 21: Developer flagged a vulnerable window for mod users between 6PM and 8PM CEST (5PM–7PM BST) during which players who ran the game with mods should scan for malware, according to the developer's post reported by Rock Paper Shotgun.
- Sept. 22: The developer posted on Steam about disabling the Workshop.
- Sept. 23: Rock Paper Shotgun published its report.
Limits
- The information in this brief is drawn from Rock Paper Shotgun's report of the developer's Steam post. Independent verification of affected files or of the malware's effects is not provided in that report.
- The developer has not provided a date for re-enabling the Workshop or a timeline for declaring the game safe to run.