A Destructoid writer has voiced frustration at Steam's growing flood of low-effort "simulator" games, prompted by the appearance of "Ball Scratch Simulator," a browser-based novelty title in which players score points by discreetly scratching in public without being spotted. The piece contrasts the genre's respected origins, including titles such as Kerbal Space Program, Euro Truck Simulator, PowerWash Simulator and Farming Simulator, with a newer wave of games the author argues simulate very little of substance, using this example to question the direction the trend has taken.

The developer, 10ft Games, describes the title as "the world's premier public ball-scratching panic experience," with players scoring based on how long they scratch undetected. Its Steam page's AI-generated content disclosure openly states the game is "AI slop," created because "the machines wanted to know what it felt like to scratch." The writer acknowledges not all simulator games are poor quality but singles out this release, due for launch sometime in August 2026, as emblematic of the genre's decline.