An 18-year-old developer, Michael Major, has seen his joke game, titled "This Game Costs 200 Dollars," generate over $1.3 million on Steam, only for a significant number of players to request refunds. The game is a follow-up to Major's previous title, "This Game Costs 10 Dollars," and was created as a prank, with the developer not anticipating actual purchases due to its exorbitant price, which represents the maximum charge allowed on Steam.
The game's Steam page itself describes the title as "the swindle to end all swindles," with Major encouraging potential buyers out of curiosity. To his surprise, thousands of players heeded this suggestion. According to Major's Steam Works Sales and Activations Report, 6,717 units were sold, with the vast majority of sales originating from China. A smaller number of sales were recorded in the United States, Hong Kong, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and Singapore.
Most of these purchases were quickly refunded, with many players not even playing the game. Those who did play had an average playtime of approximately 10 minutes. These refunds drastically reduced the game's earnings from $1,345,650 down to $2,045. Major speculated that some buyers may have been exploiting Steam's refund policy and its rewards system, such as Steam Points, which are accrued with purchases and can be used for profile customizations. Steam allows refunds within 14 days of purchase and under two hours of total playtime, a policy these buyers clearly utilized.
Major also raised concerns that his prank game could have been used for illicit activities, such as money laundering, a practice he has heard can occur with expensive games on Steam. He humorously noted that he might even be on a "hit list" due to the unusual financial activity. Reflecting on the initial $1.3 million figure, Major joked to local news outlet WMUR-TV that he "almost died" and would have "quit his job" if he had actually earned that amount.