We may earn a commission when you buy through links in our articles. Learn more.

Debunking or confirming Steam database leaks: ongoing thread

steam_database_finds

Dataminers examining the connection between anonymous Steam apps and publicly accessible community hubs appear to have unearthed multiple unannounced or previously unavailable PC games. Brand new titles datamined include Total War: Arena, Civilization: Next and Saints Row 4.

The dataminers appear to have unearthed games previously only available on console, or on mobile services, including Joe Danger 2, Fez and shockingly, Halos 1, 2, and 3.

However: I’d urge significant caution before assuming that the games in question are actively in development or due for release.

Datamining can produce interesting results, but it’s often hard to differentiate between what’s real and in development, and what’s not. It’s also easy to make mistakes: we did exactly that in reporting that League of Legends was due for a Steam release a few weeks ago.

What makes this database particularly interesting is that the dataminers linked previously anonymous Steam Apps to their namedcommunity pages. Overnight, these community pages have been removed or redirected to the Steam homepage.

Just because a game is included in the database doesn’t mean it exists: many of these games may be old or abandoned projects, tests, or business arrangements that didn’t work out.

The dataminers themselves say that “Everything you read on this site is subject to change, and until there’s an official announcement from whomever is making whatever, it’s not 100% truth. For all we know, at one point all the Halo’s might have been coming to Steam, until they decided to go XBOX exclusive with Halo 3. We know just as much as you do. For now, let’s just take the Game Hub information with a ton of salt.”

Hence this post: I’ve been reaching out to the companies involved to confirm, deny or comment on whether the games in question are actively in production, and I’m going to be updating this post throughout the day with any comments or responses. Any negotiations publishers and developers are undergoing with Steam are usually held under strict NDAs, so in the majority of cases we’ll get a flat ‘no comment’. I’ve also tried to give a bit of analysis on what I think might be going on.

This is a work in progress: I’m only going to be adding games to this list as I reach out and await comment. The full database is available here.

Fez

Fez developer Phil Fish has explained that Fez is being ported to “other platforms” on his development blog.

Halo 1,2,3

I’ve reached out to Microsoft for comment, but had no response at time of going to press. They have however, said toEurogamerthat”We currently do not have plans to release any ‘Halo’ titles on Steam”

Total War: Cavemen, Total War: Arena

“No comment” from Sega. The Total War: Cavemen entry is hilarious, but I’d imagine it is the jokey codename for any unannounced Total War game that Creative Assembly are working on. Total War: Arena is fascinating though.

Dyad

In response to the leak, Dyad creator Shawn McGrath confirmed the game’s PC release in Marchon YouTube. He sounds sad.

Civ V: Frankenstein, Civilization Next

No response from publisher 2K Games. Frankenstein is the codename given to the group of external beta testers and fans who Firaxis use to gather feedback for their latest development builds – so I wouldn’t expect there to be any reason to expect a Frankenstein themed expansion pack. But Civilization: Next is interesting. With five Civ games already produced, a sixth feels inevitable.

Saints Row 4, Saints Row: Episode 4

Previously revealed as part of the THQ bankruptcy findings, now revealed to be actively worked on on PC. I’ve reached out to the new owners of the series, Koch Media, for comment, and they’ve said they’ll get back to me.

Joe Danger 2: The Movie

I’ve reached out to Hello Games for comment, but had no response at time of going to press.

Arma 2: Cold War Rearmed 2

This was originally a mod for Arma 2, attempting to recreate the original Operation Flashpoint in the updated Arma 2 engine. That mod has been quiet for some time; their website says it’ll be done “when it’s done.” Bohemia say “This is one of the community mod with our support, but we don’t believe it could be a full release/

Defiance

Trion’s near future shooter gets a Steam listing. That makes sense given Rift is already live on Steam. I’ve reached out to Trion Worlds for comment, and they’ve said they’ll get back to me.

IDKFA

This is a Bethesda game hub that has exactly the same name as an old Doom cheat code. Bethesda say “no comment”. Doom 4 has been confirmed to be in development by id software for some time.