Paranautical Activity pulled from Steam following developer death threat

Written by David Hing

October 21, 2014 | 12:40

Companies: #steam #twitter #valve

Paranautical Activity has been pulled from Steam following a developer’s outburst on Twitter that culminated in him threatening to kill Valve boss Gabe Newell.

The first-person-shooter cross rogue-like was highlighted by Valve on Steam as part of a selection of Halloween themed games but developer Mike Maulbeck noticed that his game was being advertised as Early Access, despite the game getting a full release two weeks previously.

After allegedly trying to resolve the issue via email with Valve, Maulbeck turned to Twitter to swear about the situation, declare Steam as incompetent and ultimately state ’I am going to kill Gabe Newell. He’s going to die.’

The outburst was met with an email from Valve explaining that it was ending its business relationship with Maulbeck as a result of the death threat.

Talking to Eurogamer, the Paranautical Activity developer admits his actions were stupid and made in the heat of the moment and that he has tried to bargain with Valve to reverse its decision. Following the incident, Maulbeck has decided to leave the industry.

’It’s just not possible to make a living in this industry without Steam, so I’m just out,’ tweeted Maulbeck. ’I’m done making videogames now. It sucked while it lasted.’

Paranautical Activity is still available on Desura, the Humble Store and direct through the developer’s website.
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