Zhejiang Tongxiang police recently reported a major cross-national game copyright infringement case. A criminal gang of 12 people provided Steam “fake library addition” services on e-commerce platforms such as Taobao. They shoved games worth hundreds of yuan into buyers’ Steam libraries for prices ranging from a few yuan to over a dozen yuan each. According to case data, the cumulative orders involved reached approximately 185 million, and at a conservative average price, the transaction volume approached 200 million yuan. This is the largest Steam black market case exposed in China so far, with the police’s concentrated roundup taking place from late 2025 to early 2026.
“Fake library addition” exploits an underlying vulnerability of Steam’s shareable depot key (Depot key). It uses tools to simulate verification locally, tricking the platform into believing the user already owns a legitimate license. With technological iterations, some schemes can retain the library display even after switching computers. In reality, about 90% of related scripts also secretly install trojans, which can range from cryptomining to account theft. According to analysis, this concentrated law enforcement action is closely related to the fact that domestic AAA titles like Black Myth: Wukong heavily rely on domestic Steam sales — the relevant publishing units often have state-owned enterprise backgrounds, giving them access to legal resources and cross-departmental collaboration capabilities far beyond before, significantly raising the stakes.