Valve bans developer following API marketplace exploit.
From the outside looking in, the Steam title Bomberman appears to be just another of the thousands of shovelware games that get uploaded to the online store every month. The game itself is clearly a lazy asset pack, the trailer runs at Nintendo 64 framerates. Developer Jingcheng Studio previously listed Bomberman as essentially a pirated version of the popular game of the same name, using gameplay footage from the NES Bomberman title. Since then it has transformed into a hack and slash fantasy game using store-bought assets.
Valve took the initiative to ban Bomberman after Steam users discovered an exploit allowing anyone to add items to the Steam marketplace. The Steam marketplace allows people to trade items in-game for real money of which both Valve and the developer take a cut. Naturally users began flooding the game’s marketplace with disgusting photos of porn and actual murder victims. A number of these items ended up on the front page of the Steam marketplace where anyone could stumble up on them.
Some people from my discord figured out that the devs behind Bomberman left an exploit that allows you to add items to the game. Unfortunately, the secret has gotten out to the wider internet and some of the pictures are getting kind of unhygenic at this point… pic.twitter.com/Al0WDXjtCi
— TDM_Heyzeus (@TDM_Jesus) January 13, 2021
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YouTuber TDM_Heyzeus posted a video yesterday on the title detailing how the game appears to be a money laundering scheme. A poorly built money laundering scheme, as users were able to upload over five thousand items before the game was pulled offline.
The good news in all of this is that Bomberman has been banned from the Steam store as has the money laundering developer. Items have been pulled from the marketplace, have had their images removed, and will be deleted. It is unknown if Valve can determine who uploaded the items but if they can those users can probably expect a permanent community ban.
The items themselves are being deleted from inventories and if you made the poor decision to buy one of them you probably won’t be getting a refund. This is all another example of Valve’s woefully inadequate quality assurance as there is no system in place to vet and verify marketplace items to prevent people from uploading gore and underage pornography.
MMO Fallout 
