Spacewar, one of the oldest video games ever, just smashed its all-time player record on Steam—over 138,000 concurrent players on Sunday! But before you start thinking there’s a sudden retro gaming craze, hold up. As noted by PC Gamer’s Lincoln Carpenter, these numbers don’t reflect actual Spacewar fans. Instead, it’s a sign of something totally different: game piracy.
What Even Is Spacewar?
The original Spacewar dates back to 1962, and while you can find it on Steam (under AppID 480), it’s not there as a game for the public. Valve includes it in the Steamworks SDK—a toolset for developers to test things like multiplayer, achievements, and networking. Anyone can install it by entering steam://install/480 in their browser.
So Why Is It Suddenly So Popular?
Here’s the trick: pirates use Spacewar to sneak past Steam’s security. When someone plays a cracked game online, the pirated software often disguises itself as Spacewar to access Steam’s servers. Since every Steam user technically “owns” Spacewar, this loophole lets unauthorized games use Steam’s multiplayer features without raising suspicion.
Now, let’s talk about timing. Spacewar’s player count exploded to 100,000+ on March 24, 2025—the exact day a new game called Schedule 1 launched. Coincidence? Not likely. Reports from PC Gamer and posts on social media show that tons of users were running cracked copies of Schedule 1, which Steam registered as… you guessed it, Spacewar.
The fuck is spacewa-Oh it’s one of the steam ID spoofers for pirated games.
Well I wonder why nobody is buying hit-award-winning-AAA-blockbusters like Assassin’s Creed: Shadows?
— Phontomen (@Phontomen) March 29, 2025
This Isn’t the First Time
If this sounds familiar, that’s because it happens a lot. Spacewar has seen similar spikes whenever big new games drop—like Palworld and Sons of the Forest. Each time, Spacewar’s numbers mysteriously skyrocket.
Not Everyone Using Spacewar Is a Pirate
To be fair, there are legitimate reasons to run Spacewar. Developers still use it for testing, and some mods (like FiveM for GTA V) rely on its AppID. But let’s be real—those legitimate users wouldn’t account for hundreds of thousands of players at once.
What’s Valve Doing About It?
Steam has known about this exploit for ages, but its response has been… inconsistent. Some users get banned, but plenty continue using Spacewar as a backdoor for pirated games.
The Spacewar situation highlights the ongoing struggle digital platforms face: balancing developer tools with security against piracy. As long as Spacewar remains an easy disguise, don’t be surprised if it keeps racking up suspiciously high player counts.
Discover more from Gaming Foodle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
