Pixel Piracy Devs Would Like You To Pirate Their Pixels
It’s not the first time something like this has happened, but Pixel Piracy developer Vitali Kirpu and executive producer Alexander Poysky have decided to openly encourage those interested in giving their game a try to simply pirate a copy. In a statement made today, the duo even provided a torrent as an official link to the pirated version:
“Here is a direct torrent link that we will personally seed to our currently available version of the game. We aren’t idiots, we aren’t high. We believe that anyone who wants to pirate our game will do so anyways, and feel it’s a much safer bet to offer those people the official link to our game in hopes that they keep their computer’s virus free.
If you LIKE the game you can support us in a number of ways besides purchasing the title outright. Steam greenlight is very important to us right now, and a vote for it DOES make a difference, and your warm reception on our IndieDB review page is what pushed us to initially take this decision. Not everything is about money, and we want to thank those that pirate our title and actually give them the opportunity to do so with our blessing, while giving them an opportunity to actually make good on the piracy itself. Tell your friends about us, share the link around IF and only IF you enjoy the game, and if you DON’T enjoy it at least you didn’t have to pay for it!
– Vitali Kirpu and Alexander Poysky”
“Think of the long term here,” Poysky said, speaking to IGM about the decision to invite anyone interested to download a pre-release version of the pirate simulator/roguelike game. “Piracy WILL happen.” With that said, Poysky believes exhibiting some control over the situation can benefit them down the line. “There are many ways someone who doesn’t pay for the game can still support us. Think about it, if you like the game, you will be inclined to tell people about it, vote for us on Steam Greenlight, reddit, tweet, and use social media to express your like of the title,” he said. “Now, if you pirate a game, love it, and help it grow through it’s alpha, that to us is worth the money you would have invested in the game.”
That’s not to discourage would-be purchasers, though. Those who do pay for the game – currently available at a 40% discount through Desura – will have access to all future versions of Pixel Piracy and be granted Steam keys, should their Greenlight campaign be successful. As far as how long this piracy offer will last, Poysky mentioned that, “We may or may not decide to have a set cut-off point in the future and leave the torrent as a sort of “full demo” version, but currently we are happy with our decision.”
To catch up with the game’s progress as it develops, follow along @PixelPiracyGame and check out their IndieDB page; where voting for the IndieDB Game of the Year is currently taking place. The team is also fond of a Let’s Play by Youtuber TheRPGMinx found here.
