Steam May Intervene as ‘Banana’ Surpasses 400,000 Concurrent Players

If you’ve been following the most popular games on Steam recently, you’ve likely come across an unusual one – “Banana.” In this game, players simply click on a banana, and that’s the entire gameplay.

However, Banana has now exceeded 420,000 concurrent players as of an hour ago. The situation is becoming concerning due to the reasons for playing the game and the composition of the player base, primarily comprising numerous bots.

The game has turned into a profitable venture. By accumulating banana “skins” through clicks, players can sell them like items in Counterstrike, with some skins fetching substantial amounts, the highest recorded sale being $1,345.

The issue arises from the fact that the majority of players are bots, as a team member of the developers, Hery, acknowledged in a statement to Polygon:

“Unfortunately, we are currently facing some problems around botting since the game utilizes minimal PC resources, individuals are exploiting up to 1000 alternative accounts to collect rare drops or multiple drops.”

At the latest count, only a third of the players were considered genuine users, while the rest were automated accounts. With the current player count at 420,000, this ratio may have worsened. The developers have reached out to Valve for assistance in addressing this issue, raising questions about potential interventions from Valve.

Hery acknowledges that the game essentially functions as a “legal infinite money glitch.” Players engage in the simplest game imaginable, obtain skins to sell for real money. While there is a market for these skins, even the expensive ones, the situation raises concerns. The game is generating profits for Valve, players, and the developer, making it feasible for a small team to manage. Nevertheless, the dominance of a bot-operated banana game on Steam is questionable.

Currently, there seems to be no halt to the bot activities, and Valve has remained silent, as is typical. Presumably, this situation cannot persist indefinitely. The outcome and potential justifications for addressing this issue remain uncertain.

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