A Steam user has discovered a bug that causes problems when two different games share the exact same name on the platform. Reddit user maciej0s123 reported the issue after finding that both games named “Synergy” use the same installation folder, leading one to overwrite the other’s files.

The two games in question are Leikir Studio’s city management game Synergy, released in 2025, and a free Half-Life 2 mod also called Synergy that has been available for nearly 20 years. According to the user’s report, installing the city building game first and then the Half-Life 2 mod causes the second game to replace the main executable file of the first. When players try to launch the city builder, the Half-Life 2 mod opens instead.

The root of the problem appears to be how Steam handles game installation folders. While every game on Steam has a unique App ID—the number visible in Steam game URLs—developers choose their own installation folder names. Most use the game’s title, which usually works fine. However, when two games have identical names and developers don’t account for potential conflicts, files can get overwritten.

Other platforms like the Microsoft Store, Google Play, and Apple’s App Store avoid this issue by creating installation folders based on each app’s unique ID rather than its name. This keeps apps separate even when their names are the same. Steam’s system works differently, likely because the platform was originally built to distribute games made with Valve’s Source Engine, where such overlaps were less of a concern. Now that Steam hosts thousands of games from various developers, changing the entire folder system could create new problems.

The user who discovered the bug contacted Steam Support but received a general response stating that the support team couldn’t share information about future fixes. Reddit users have suggested a workaround: manually rename the game folders on your computer and adjust the installdir values in the steamapps folder after installing the first game.

This issue currently affects only a small number of games since duplicate titles are relatively rare on Steam. However, as the platform continues to grow and add more indie games, similar problems could become more common.