People Playground Disables Mods After Second Steam Malware Hit

Studio Minus has disabled Steam Workshop support for its ragdoll sandbox People Playground after a malicious mod spread through the platform on September 22, marking the game’s second Workshop malware outbreak in 2026. The developer has released a new build that blocks mods from running entirely, and has warned players on its Discord that Workshop support will only return if mods can be made fundamentally safe to run, adding that such a condition might never be met.

What the Malware Does

According to PC Gamer, a Reddit user who examined the malicious Workshop mod found that it hijacks the victim’s Steam account to republish itself on the Workshop alongside the user’s personal information. It also destroys files for People Playground and other installed Steam games, and sends slurs to the infected user’s Steam friends list. Studio Minus initially stated that the mod does not steal passwords, but has since urged all People Playground players to change their Discord passwords and the passwords for any other important accounts as a precaution.

A Recurring Problem With No Easy Fix

This is not the first time Studio Minus has faced this situation. The studio shut down People Playground’s Workshop in February following a separate outbreak of self-replicating malware, making this the second such incident within the same calendar year. In a blog post published before the September outbreak, lead developer zooi described People Playground as a technical hellscape, stating that properly sandboxing mods in their current state is technically impossible. Zooi also called the studio’s ongoing effort to contain malicious mod activity a hopeless arms race, PC Gamer reports.

Steam Workshop’s Broader Security Pattern in 2026

People Playground is not an isolated case. The year has seen a pattern of Workshop-related security incidents across multiple titles on the platform. The table below summarizes the confirmed cases reported by PC Gamer.

Steam’s open publishing model allows smaller developers to reach audiences they would otherwise struggle to find, but that same openness creates security gaps that larger studios with dedicated security teams are better equipped to close. For players, the practical advice right now is straightforward: if you have downloaded mods for People Playground recently, change your passwords and audit the games installed on your machine.

Sources: PC Gamer