Steam Pulls Indie Game after Developer Threatens Gabe’s Life

Interesting PR Move, Let's See How This Plays Out

By Paolo Succi on October 20, 2014 at 7:40pm

Indie developer Mike Maulbeck had his newest release, "Paranautical Activity" removed from Steam today after he allegedly tweeted death threats to Steam's co-founder and managing director Gabe Newell.

Apparently "Paranautical Activity" was supposed to migrate from Early Access to its full release on the Steam network today, but complications on Steam's end meant it was still listed as Early Access. In a conversation with Polygon, "Paranautical Activity" developer Maulbeck said Steam's mix-up would confuse potential consumers and "cripple sales."

In what will likely be considered the largest overreaction in gaming history, Maulbeck tweeted his official response (now deleted):

I am going to kill gabe newell. he is going to die.[sic] Mike Maulbeck, Developer

Steam reacted swiftly, pulling the game from its library saying in an email to Polygon:

"Yes, we have removed the game's sales page and ceased relations with the developer after he threatened to kill one of our employees,"

For those wanting to follow this absurd story look no further than Maulbeck's Twitter feed. He has changed his display name to "Murderbeck" and lamented that not all is lost, as they have sold 12 non-Steam copies through other digital retailers.