People Playground‘s Steam Workshop is disabled again after Studio Minus found another malicious mod. A new build now prevents mods from running, and the developer described the latest file as “especially bad” in its September 22 Steam update. Players who opened the game with mods between 6 and 8 p.m. CEST on September 21 may have been exposed to software capable of damaging personal data and Steam information.
Another People Playground malware incident on the Steam Workshop, running the game with mods installed could wipe your personal files
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What affected players should do
Anyone who had mods installed and opened People Playground during that window should consider running an antivirus scan. Studio Minus also advised players to delete every mod from their mods folder and avoid opening the game again until a Steam announcement confirms that it is safe.
In a Discord message, the developer said Workshop access and mod support will return only if mods can be made safe to run, adding that this may never happen. Players who depend on community content will therefore have to use the current game without mods while Studio Minus considers whether the feature can return at all.
What the malicious mod may have done
The official warning says the program may permanently remove a considerable amount of personal data, damage Steam configuration and cloud data connected to other games, and affect inventories and Workshop information. It also says the malware does not steal passwords, tokens, cookies, or other credentials. The developer warned that it could read a player’s Discord username and other identifiable information, then publish itself to the Workshop to help spread the attack.
A separate inspection of the malicious mod claims it can hijack a user’s Steam account to republish itself alongside personal information. The inspection also claims that the mod can damage files belonging to People Playground and other installed Steam games, then send slurs to the user’s Steam friends.
Studio Minus initially said the infected mod did not steal passwords or other credentials, but it has nevertheless urged players to change their Discord passwords and the passwords for other important accounts. The full scope of the damage remains uncertain. The developer has not identified who uploaded the mod and asked players not to harass or blame anyone while the incident is investigated.
Why Workshop support may not return
The latest shutdown is the second People Playground Workshop malware outbreak this year, following a similar incident in February. A blog post published last month by zooi, the game’s primary developer, called People Playground a “technical hellscape” and said proper mod sandboxing was technically impossible in its current state. The post described containing malicious mods as a “hopeless arms race.”
The situation also follows a separate Stick Fight Workshop malware incident, when developers temporarily unpublished user maps after finding a malicious upload. For now, People Playground players should follow Studio Minus’s instructions, remove their mods, and wait for a safety announcement before opening the game again.
Would you keep playing People Playground without Workshop access, or is a permanent mod shutdown the safer choice? Share your take in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
