The creators of the Banana game are denying any accusations of a “scam”following claims that a former developer was involved in a pump and dump scheme.
In recent weeks, a game known as Banana has surpassed Steam in a manner we have never witnessed. At present, it has achieved a record of 800,000 simultaneous players on Steam, surpassing Baldur’s Gate 3 and Hogwarts Legacy on the platform’s list of most popular games.
Despite its sudden popularity, there were doubts among many about whether the simple release should be permitted on Steam. This is due to the fact that a significant number of players are only interested in obtaining in-game items that they can later sell for actual currency on the marketplace.
Amidst ongoing discussions about the project, its developers turned to Discord to clarify the situation, refuting claims that Banana is a fraudulent scheme. These accusations mainly arose after the exposure of issues related to a former developer and their involvement in an alleged pump and dump scheme.
In a video posted by TDMHeyzeus, the content creator alleged that TheseLions, one of Banana’s developers, was earning money on Steam by selling a game that included a dropped item. This item was then gifted to friends, inflated on the marketplace, and ultimately resulted in a profit.
The game, called Run, was ultimately removed from Steam and its creator was banned by Valve. However, although TheseLions received a VAC ban on their account, they were not completely banned.
Following the video’s viral success, one of the creators of Banana released a statement addressing the former developer and their purported involvement in the scheme.
Banana’s co-creator Spartan’s statement
According to co-creator Spartan, they were not aware of this issue until recent videos brought it to their attention. They quickly had a conversation about it and as a result, they decided to part ways with TheseLions.
Spartan clarified that he and fellow creator Sky are in charge of the game, emphasizing that there is no fraudulent activity taking place. He also mentioned that TheseLions, who had all their bananas taken away from their inventory, is no longer a part of the team.
“According to Spartan, we are currently developing an update and are excited to transform this game into something more expansive and improved, going beyond its current state as a clicker game.”
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