Dubai, United Arab Emirates – 24 July 2025 – The Acronis Threat Research Unit (TRU) has uncovered details of a sophisticated, consumer-focused malware campaign exploiting the global popularity of online gaming—an industry valued at over US$7 billion in the Middle East alone and projected to grow rapidly as young, digitally native audiences fuel demand. The researchers identified that among the most impacted countries globally are three Middle East nations — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Türkiye. This underscores the urgent need for awareness among regional gamers who are particularly active on platforms like Discord, where much of the malicious content is distributed.

The campaign targets consumers, particularly gamers aged 18–35. Victims are lured with what appear to be beta versions of indie games such as Baruda Quest, Warstorm Fire, and Dire Talon, but instead what ends up being downloaded is infostealer malware like Leet Stealer, RMC Stealer, and Sniffer Stealer.