Vinci Games, the developer of indie game Cargo 3 has been accused today of a number of ethical lapses in a Reddit post on r/Steam.

Reddit user Nucloid explains he was brought on as a community manager ~2 months ago and began to notice unethical behaviour coming from the developer. Vinci Games has a habit of guilting users who have given Cargo 3 a negative review, first accusing users of not giving the game a chance and then doggedly trying to explain why the game is better than the review. In another case the developer was more caustic, harassing a negative reviewer by first accusing them of lying about the game, and then mocking them for finding the game too difficult and recommending easier ones.

Nucloid also presents evidence that the developer created accounts for the sole purpose of reviewing Cargo 3 positively. They identify 3 accounts; Bananowhy, Bananoho & Monika.zajac (two of which are obviously very similarly named) which have exactly one game on their Steam accounts (Cargo 3) and have reviewed exactly one game, also Cargo 3. While it is certainly possible to have a steam account for the purpose of playing just one game, these three accounts all have under 1.5 hours played on this game they claim to have loved. Additionally, none of these accounts have been active in 48 days, approximately one week after the launch of Cargo 3.

Since this Reddit post went up the developer has deleted their comments on the negative reviews in question, though the positive reviews from the suspect accounts remain present. While developers have the right to answer criticism from the gamers, some would argue that if these claims against Vinci Games can be substantiated; the developer has gone too far.

We have reached out to Vinci Games for comment but have not yet received a response.

What do you think Raptors? Do you think these claims against the Cargo 3 developer are legitimate? If so, did they cross a line?