this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2026
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Linux Gaming

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[–] kadu@scribe.disroot.org 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Being on steam doesnt immediately mean they're trusted

Being on Steam means I'll download the game, and it will run on my stable environment, regardless if the studio closes down or decides the launcher is no longer Linux compatible.

Look to the recent games that were malware stealing from charaties for example

Something that happens once in a blue moon and is immediately caught by Valve? I'm good.

Minecraft is also an example of a off platform trusted game with their own proprietary launchers for Java/bedrock.

Which ends up requiring a third party to maintain a Linux launcher because the official one was sold to Microsoft which makes it problematic... Are you trying to prove my point for me?

[–] Katana314@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

I mean, if Hytale disappears from package managers, you still have the version of it installed locally, right? And, the game operates offline.

The most notable example of malware findings was a cancer patient whose whole crypto wallet was stolen. While this sounds like a "once in a blue moon" thing, it was also said on that occasion that the malicious game in question had been around for weeks with no action from Valve. Even acknowledging that Valve isn't a security company, VXUnderground said in their report of the incident: "Valve allowed this malware to exist for just under a month. This is appalling levels of vetting, how can you let such brazen malware exist on your platform. Review the later sections for proof of when the malware was inserted."

This was the notable case, but it's very likely other similar malware pushes onward. Just take a look at the amount of AI sex-focused slop coming onto Steam in January.

It is convenient, by all means, but I would hardly say a game being on Steam by default makes it "trusted".