The Steam digital storefront has reportedly begun offering a free game called Matrix World, described as a pared down version of The Matrix Awakens. According to VGTimes, the Steam listing appears to be unaffiliated with the developers behind the original project, raising questions about origin and legitimacy.
Matrix Awakens, originally developed by Epic Games in collaboration with Warner Bros, was released in 2021 as a showcase for Unreal Engine 5 in a free to play open world format. The title demonstrated the engine’s potential through cinematic visuals and interactive gameplay elements. It originally launched on contemporary consoles such as Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, and later enjoyed considerable attention from fans and developers alike who rebuilt the project on PC using freely available Unreal Engine 5 tools.
What matters now is a newly created Steam page under the name Matrix World, attributed to an unfamiliar studio named Netlex, which lists the game for 710 rubles. Reports from players indicate at least one purchase of the item, with nine reviews already posted on the listing. In several documentation lines, Epic Games is named alongside Netlex as the game’s developers, which adds to the confusion surrounding the game’s provenance.
Steam moderation appears to be in the spotlight as questions about how such a listing could pass review grow louder. There is no public statement from Epic Games at this time regarding Matrix World appearing on Steam or the nature of the project. The absence of a clear official source has led parts of the community to treat the listing with caution while others consider it a potential misrepresentation or counterfeit attempt.
Meanwhile, a separate development in the Russian market involved VK Play announcing a pre-order opportunity for a game called Smoot, priced at 1600 rubles. The episode underscores the broader context of regional storefronts handling unverified titles and the impact such events can have on players, developers, and platform policies.