Image by Sean Do, from Unsplash
Valve Apologizes After Steam Error Kills Indie Game Launch
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
An indie game developer said that the launch of their game, Planet Centauri, became a disaster when a rare Steam bug struck the launch of their game.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- Valve admitted a bug prevented wishlist notification emails from being sent.
- The bug affected fewer than 100 games since 2015, according to Valve.
- Valve offered a Daily Deal slot, but developers say it can’t fix losses.
The 2D sandbox game, Planet Centauri, spent more than ten years in early access before it reached its 1.0 release in December 2024. The game achieved 1.0 status in December 2024 after selling more than 100,000 copies while reaching 138,000 wishlists.
The developers predicted high launch sales but the game only managed to sell 581 copies during its first five days of release.
“This is how Steam can ruin more than 10 years of your work,” developer Laurent Lechat wrote on Reddit, as reported by Games Radar . He explained, “the game didn’t even appear on page 2 [of Steam trends]; we were invisible; the release was a total flop. And we never understood why until today.”
Nine months later, Valve admitted the failure was caused by a bug. Games Radar reports that in an email to the developers, Valve confirmed that Planet Centauri’s launch was affected by “a bug that impacted a very small number of game releases (less than 100 since 2015) where wishlist email notifications for the launch of a game were not sent.”
The game received a Daily Deal promotion from Valve as part of their apology, but Lechat remained skeptical. “It’s incredible to win the lottery like this,” he said, adding that the offer couldn’t make up for the lost launch window, as reported by Games Radar.
Too drained to fight further, the small studio has moved on. “We’ve started a second project because it’s financially impossible to continue patching our game, and we’re moving forward, because it’s the only thing to do.” Lechat said, as reported by Games Radar.
Image by Mitchell Luo, from Unsplash
Former CIA Contractor Allegedly Sold Classified Data For Private Profit
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
A former CIA contractor, Dale Britt Bendler, allegedly used classified systems as a “personal Google” to earn $360,000 from private clients.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- He earned about $360,000 from private clients while a full-time contractor.
- Bendler had Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance during the misconduct.
- He shared classified information with a U.S. lobbying firm and foreign nationals.
Dale Britt Bendler who served as a CIA officer and contractor exploited his access to classified U.S. intelligence systems which he treated like his own search engine for selling information to private clients, according to court documents obtained by 404Media .
Bendler, 68, retired from the CIA in 2014 but returned as a contractor with a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance.
404Media reports that the government says he used this access to collect sensitive information and provide it to a U.S. lobbying firm and foreign nationals, earning approximately $360,000 in private fees between July 2017 and September 2020.
“He violated his oaths, broke the law, and should be held accountable,” the court document states.
404Media notes that in one case, Bendler allegedly gathered information for a foreign national accused of laundering money from his country’s sovereign wealth fund.
The court records say he was paid $20,000 a month to help with a public relations campaign aimed at rebutting the allegations and lobbying U.S. officials. 404Media says that Bendler reportedly searched CIA systems for information about the individual and included it in a proposal to a U.S. lobbying firm.
The court documents show he received $20,000 per month to help with public relations work aimed at rebutting the allegations and lobbying U.S. officials..
Bendler reportedly searched CIA systems for information about the individual and included it in a proposal to a U.S. lobbying firm. That proposal suggested using classified information to “influence the American public and using his prior relationships with government officials on the National Security Council and in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to influence U.S. policy.”
In a separate case, Bendler allegedly gathered information on another foreign national accused of laundering money for a foreign terrorist organization, as noted by 404Media.
The court documents note, “In many ways, Defendant was able to use the fact that his job was so sensitive and classified as both a sword and a shield. He wielded it as a sword when he abused his access to classified information and he relied on it as a shield to hide his criminal activity.”
Furthermore. “It is important to send a strong message at sentencing and deter other former members of the intelligence community from breaking the law to make some extra money.”
