“Buy the game, you piece of s**t,” indie dev applauded for dissing Steam Key beggars 

Giving away Steam Keys to influential YouTubers and streamers is a common form of marketing that indie developers employ to help get their games noticed. However, this practice has brought upon the curse of indie creators getting hounded for Steam Keys every time they release a game, often by people who can’t even offer exposure in exchange. In a recent Q&A post, Japanese indie developer Housenka bluntly rebuffed Steam Key beggars, to the satisfaction of the community. 

Housenka is a member of the indie studio Denneko Yuugi, which is currently producing the 3D action RPG Machina of the Planet Tree: Mugen Ourokaku (Update: The game is now officially titled Eternal Sakura Palace and scheduled to launch in late 2025). This is the third entry to their Machina of the Planet Tree series, and based on currently available images and videos, it boasts some stunning 3D graphics, paired with anime-style character designs.  

Denneko Yuugi’s frequent teasing of the game’s attractive and high-quality characters on social media has generated a lot of interest towards the upcoming title among both Japanese and English-speaking users. However, it seems the popularity has also come with the price of unwanted inquiries.  

In a now viral Q&A post (seen above), Housenka answers various questions from users in a sarcastic but light-hearted manner, such as “Will there be sex? – No, please make your way to DLsite.” and “Can you make the character’s butt and thighs thicker? – Just accept her for who she is.” But the last frequently asked question, “I’ll promote you, give me a Steam Key,” earned only a relentless “Buy it, you piece of sh*t.” from the developer. In a reply to a commenter, Housenka adds, “I think every person who has released a game on Steam wants to say the same thing.” 

Even among indie developers, taking a “harsh” tone with customers is not such a common sight in Japanese spaces, so the studio’s official diss earned a lot shocked yet impressed reactions. 

On another note, creators on overseas communities like Reddit warn fellow indie developers to be wary of requests for free Steam Keys, as a lot of them merely want to resell the received keys. Such scammers may also pretend to be influential content creators, so thorough fact-checking is crucial before accepting offers. 

Denneko Yuugi’s Machina of the Planet Tree: Mugen Ourokaku is currently in development for the PC (Steam), with an Early Access release planned for this year. A demo is available on the studio’s official website.