Valve Confirms: No Steam User Data Breach

Valve has firmly denied recent reports suggesting its Steam platform experienced a "major" data hack, asserting that there was "NOT a breach" of Steam systems.

While some users were alarmed by claims that over 89 million user records were compromised, Valve's investigation concluded that the leak involved only "older text messages" containing one-time code SMSs, devoid of any personal information.

In a statement released on Steam, Valve explained that after reviewing the leak sample, they confirmed that customer data remained secure. They stated, "The leak consisted of older text messages that included one-time codes that were only valid for 15-minute time frames and the phone numbers they were sent to. The leaked data did not associate the phone numbers with a Steam account, password information, payment information or other personal data."

Valve further reassured users that "Old text messages cannot be used to breach the security of your Steam account, and whenever a code is used to change your Steam email or password using SMS, you will receive a confirmation via email and/or Steam secure messages."

The concern over a potential security breach was understandable, given the increasing frequency of data breaches and the large number of Steam users—over 89 million. The gaming industry has seen its share of high-profile breaches, such as the 2011 incident where PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable networks were compromised, leading to a nearly month-long outage and affecting 77 million accounts.

Moreover, data breaches have not been limited to customer information. In October of the previous year, Pokémon developer Game Freak was hit with a significant hack that exposed data on current and former staff, as well as details about its development projects. In 2023, Sony disclosed that data from nearly 7,000 of its current and former employees was compromised in two separate breaches. Also, in December 2023, hackers breached confidential data at Marvel's Spider-Man developer, Insomniac.