It’s a tale that has been told again and again; small-time developers without much to offer slap a few assets together, throw the term Simulator on the end of the title, and sell it on Steam for a few bucks. Typically, the titles are by-and-large ignored by consumers, as the trope is well known by this point; Drug Dealer Simulator, however, seemed to have skirted the common sense and critical thinking that many are expected to exhibit.
Granted, it’s not entirely their fault; the trailers coming from the developers at Byterunners Game Studio made it seem as though there was at least a modicum of effort behind the title, and people were only too willing to step into the shady world of dealing illegal substances to experience the life, and decisions made, as users build an empire around illicit activities.
The Steam page for Drug Dealer Simulator promised a massive wealth of activities to prospective consumers, ranging from using their illicit funds for partying with ‘ladies of the night’, purchasing firearms and using them to defend your turf, and the standard gamut of play that people seem to associate with drug dealing. The problem lies in what the title actually delivered, which was not even close to what was promised.
There are no firearms that were prominently displayed on the Steam page, there is no partying or, really, any means to spend your wealth; the entire game is about as deep as a puddle, and users are furious that they’ve been duped by false advertising. As outcry rose from purchases, Byterunners Game Studios removed the majority of false promises on the Steam page store, while removing any discussions about where the missing features were. Looking at the page today, you might wonder where the fury is coming from; thankfully the Wayback Machine is here to help.
Of the four gifs that Byterunners have included in their original Steam page for Drug Dealer Simulator, only one of them is close to accurate. The growing of crops to sell has been completely cut from the title, despite being the main selling point for many. This gif has since been cut from the page, along with the ability to spend money, party, fight, shoot weapons, and do anything other than walk around a low-poly town and talk to NPCs. Byterunners Game Studio changed the advertising on their Steam store page on April 23rd, reflecting the general lack of promised content.
Bear in mind that there is obscene content if you choose to look yourself, which you can do here via Wayback Machine: April 22 (six days after the launch of the title) has all of the content that is not in the game. April 23 shows the current Steam page for Drug Dealer Simulator.
It’s unfortunate and infuriating for many, as a title that looked to actually hold promise has become a mere shadow of what it could have been, eschewing any sizeable content for a quick profit. Users are calling on Valve to do anything to crack down on developers that advertise one thing, yet deliver something entirely different; Valve has not made a statement on this as of yet. The misdirection is not currently affecting the title on Steam, which has 88% recommended out of 3,221 reviews. Users that attempt to discuss the removed features are reported that they are being banned from Steam discussions and the title’s official Discord server.
