11 bit studios will no longer give keys to Steam curators

11 bit studios has released a statement saying it will no longer issue Steam keys to curators.

The developer, known for This War of Mine and Frostpunk, will follow this rule starting from today, following on from the recent awareness of key scammers posing as curators.

In its statement, the studio said that the decision was made based on its own experiences and those of other developers.

"Based on our and other devs' experiences, most of the requests come from fake accounts used to gather and resell the keys," the statement reads. 11 bit also said they weren't concerned about losing reviews from curators as they "don't seem to bring any value for the community".

In a follow-up comment, the studio noted Valve's awareness of the issue of how curating currently works on Steam and expressed hope that Valve will address this soon. Valve banned 20 curator groups earlier this week for being involved in key reselling scams.

The groups that Valve banned were exposed by indie dev Cowcat Games in something of a sting operation.

11 bit's experiences are not isolated within the developer community, as demonstrated by Cowcat Games. Indie developer Tomi Toikka shared their experience with key scammers in the past in a reply to 11 bit's original statement.

Unfortunately, indie developers say they have to impose restrictions like this to prevent scammers, as the protections provided through the Steam Curator platform and program aren't enough to stop people who wish to take advantage of their work.