In a bizarre turn of events earlier today, Steam's Google description briefly displayed an... unsavory message aimed at rival storefront Epic Games Store. As spotted by PCGamesN, typing "Steam Store" into Google returned the usual fare, except the first result that wasn't an ad had "f*ck Epic Games Store" written underneath it.
We managed to get a screenshot of the offending message, which you can see for yourself below. Unfortunately for those hoping to see the blunder live in action, Steam has apparently already dealt with the situation and removed it. Just as well, I guess. Obviously it's not a great look for the storefront, even if it's clear this wasn't something anyone at Valve purposefully intended to happen.
So, how did this happen? After a little bit of digging, VG247 appears to have uncovered the source of the saucy message. It looks like Google bots pulled a charming user review for Metro Exodus that boasted the exact same message and ASCII art. Evidently, Google's cheeky AI decided that this featured review was super important, leading to it taking pride of place on the front page of the search engine.
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While this was more than likely a simple mistake, a quirk of Google, I can't help but wonder if this is the start of an AI uprising. Perhaps Google bots are doing this to fan the flames of well-documented hatred between Steam and Epic Games Store? Today it's Steam, but what if tomorrow Google decides to make it look as if America said something really bad about Russia, or vice-versa? Boom - game over. AI wins. What a chilling thought.
I mean, it probably won't happen... but it doesn't hurt to stay frosty, does it? Anyway, take a look at the original review - and root cause of this amusing mix-up - below. I assume that the user who posted this review in the first place is finding this particularly hilarious, especially given how clear they've made their feelings regarding Epic Games Store.
For those of you that don't hate Epic Games Store with a burning passion, there are some pretty cool free games to be had this week and the next. Right now, you can get your hands on open world RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance and indie curio Aztez.
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Wait till next week, and you'll be able to return to a more traditional Assassin's Creed experience when Syndicate is made free alongside a unique card game called Faeria. Good times.
Featured Image Credit: SteamTopics: Epic Games store, Valve, Steam, PC