People Playground drops C# mods after Workshop malware outbreak

Studio Minus says the latest build is safe, while Valve removed risky Workshop items and a replacement scripting system is planned.

2 Sources, 2h ago, first seen 2h ago

People Playground gameplay shows two white ragdoll figures in a dark room, with one holding a handgun.

TLDR

People Playground has ended official support for C# mods after malware spread through its Steam Workshop and infected a few users. Studio Minus says the latest build is safe because it cannot run mods. Valve removed C# items, uploads containing sensitive data and everything uploaded or updated since September 21. The developer plans to restore modding through a safer, isolated scripting layer, with Lua the leading candidate, but it has not announced a launch date.

Featured Source

People Playground is abandoning its existing C# mod system after malware spread through the game’s Steam Workshop. In an official incident recap, developer Studio Minus said the latest build is safe to open because it cannot run mods.

The studio said a few users were infected by malware built specifically for the game. It spread by uploading itself to the Workshop, inserting itself into popular mods and reaching subscribed players through automatic updates. Once the game compiled the infected code, the malware could delete personal files, vandalize a player’s Steam account and upload sensitive information back to the Workshop. Studio Minus said that exposed information could have been used to access a player’s account.

Why the old system failed

People Playground’s mods were written as C# source code that the game compiled at launch. Studio Minus said the game relied on internal checks to catch suspicious behavior because fully isolating C# inside Unity would require native sandboxing. The developer concluded that those checks failed and that letting Workshop items execute arbitrary code at this scale was an unsustainable risk.

Valve has since deleted Workshop items containing C# code or sensitive data, along with everything uploaded or updated since September 21, according to the recap. C# mods will no longer be officially supported or hosted on the Workshop. User-created contraptions are not covered by that ban, although the developer warned that Valve’s cleanup may have removed some of them.

What players should do now

Studio Minus advised anyone who played between September 21 and September 24 to change their Steam password, enable Steam Guard two-factor authentication, review purchases and trades, check for an email from Steam and run an updated antivirus scan. The studio said affected players received an email from Steam; those who did not were most likely unaffected.

The Workshop is likely to return, but the developer has not set a date or finalized its form. Studio Minus plans to replace C# mods with a more isolated scripting layer designed with experienced modders. Lua is the leading candidate, with JavaScript also under consideration. Existing C# mods will not return as an officially supported Workshop format.

The September outbreak follows a separate Workshop malware incident in February. After that earlier episode, the developer reopened the Workshop with new checks and manual approval for changed mods. The latest recap says the replacement system will still carry some risk, but should make harmful code much less likely to escape its sandbox.

Today's Rank

#19

People Playground drops C# mods after Workshop malware outbreak

Studio Minus says the latest build is safe, while Valve removed risky Workshop items and a replacement scripting system is planned.

2 Sources, 2h ago, first seen 2h ago

TLDR

Featured Source

People Playground drops C# mods after Workshop malware outbreak

TLDR

Why the old system failed

What players should do now

People Playground drops C# mods after Workshop malware outbreak

TLDR

Why the old system failed

What players should do now

2 Sources

Combined views

Why the old system failed

What players should do now

Why the old system failed

What players should do now

Combined views

Sentiment

Summary

Sentiment

Summary

Sentiment

Summary

2 Sources

2 Sources

2 Sources