Friday the 13th Kickstarter Backer Rewards Stolen From Distribution Partner

A large number of keys meant for Friday the 13th publisher Gun Media’s Kickstarter backers were stolen by temporary workers contracted by distribution partner Limited Run Games on Saturday. The stolen keys were being sold on eBay for $100 a pop by a user who previously sold Limited Run Games items.

According to PC Gamer, a Reddit user discovered and monitored the eBay account in question. The user’s actions became suspicious after the selling of keys continued for months, racking up tens of thousands of dollars in the process. A Gun Media spokesperson addressed the theft on the Reddit thread and announced that any unredeemed keys had been cancelled. “We previously assumed that backer-content keys being sold on eBay were the same as you; a fan who got in early and purchased extra keys,” said the developer, continuing, “the company has worked to resolve the situation, but unfortunately, both we and the company were unaware of the digital portion of the theft until these auctions were brought to our attention.”

Gun Media did not confirm Limited Run Games as the distribution partner in question, but the niche publisher confirmed that a temporary worker it hired was the likely culprit. “We often utilized many temporary contract workers to assist with the various busy work … it’s our best guess that one of these workers took it upon themselves to illicitly access the codes,” said Limited Run Games. The distributer added, “This was not sanctioned by us nor Gun and neither of us knew it had happened util the community brought it to light.” They cannot confirm the identity of the “specific culprit” but they have no “reason to believe that the person in question still works for us.”

Limited Run also announced that they discontinued the practice of hiring temporary workers in December.