Thousands of games are released every year. Over ten thousand games have been added to Steam in the past year alone. However, many are victims of piracy or unsuccessful marketing strategies. It is not even sincere that a game for which effort is spent and hours, maybe dozens of people’s time, is the victim of such failures.
For this, both the developer and the player have some responsibilities. Of course, a developer should pay attention to DRM and many other issues to protect his game from pirates, but what can we do as players?
The solution to this problem is not to play pirated games. It doesn’t make sense to download a file that a pirate uploaded to the Internet just because it’s free. They can quickly get your files and personal information when you say I will play. I never mention the disrespect for the work done and the effort.
Related: More than 20% of game developers generate all their revenue on Steam
By clicking here, you can reach many topics, from how to add a game to Steam to what issues it should pay attention to in marketing. It is necessary not to forget how difficult such a job is, how many people have a source of income and to give the labor its due. Remember, if you like that game, thanks to these developers’ efforts.
In this article, I will give you a few reasons not to download and play pirated games, but as I mentioned above, not disrespecting the labor is a sufficient reason.
Malware and Adware
One of the most common causes is Malware. Remember, if there is something free, you are the product. The pirate, who adds a free game to the Internet, can obtain both your personal data and financial information by adding Malware or Adware-type malicious software among those files. In a scenario where you download a pirated game, think about why the pirates ask you to turn off your firewall and antivirus software.
So what are these? What do they do? Malware is a general name for spyware and malicious software. We can consider many types of software such as worm, trojan, backdoor, exploit, and keylogger under Malware. But Adware is a little different. This type of software, based on advertisements, usually infects devices with website visits, can obtain information about you, and perform various actions within the device. In any case, do not forget to keep Windows Defender and all antivirus programs turned on.
Stabilization and version problems
Today, specific game updates and bug fix phases occur after a certain period of time passes since the release. Updates on the first-day patch and constantly tracked bugs keep the game more optimized and up-to-date. Not even mentioning the extra added content. I think you know pirated games are hard to update.
You should know that you will not be able to get any service by being stuck on the version you downloaded, and you will be playing the problematic version. Even more so, some developers even make surprises for pirated players.
Remedy Entertainment’s Quantum Break welcomed pirate players with a small surprise. If the game detects that it’s been acquired for free, it adds a pirate eye patch to the character.
It’s illegal
After all, pirated games are illegal. This is not just for games. Free reproduction and copying of movies, TV shows, music, and scientific content may expose you to legal charges. Although the penalty for downloading pirated games varies from country to country, it does not exist in most countries, but supporting its reproduction and sharing is a crime. You don’t want to deal with such dangers for a free game.
Many inaccessible features
When you pirate a game, you are deprived of many features. This may vary, but I can give examples such as achievements, multiplayer mode, and cloud services. The game prices are pretty high according to the economic conditions of the countries, which is a very understandable reason. Even when we go back to 2014 alone, the data collected by CNBC shows a loss of 74 billion dollars in the industry.
Imagine you own a studio that develops AAA-quality games. In this scenario, you must pay tens or even hundreds of employees each month. You have many expenses such as studio expenses, technology expenses, salaries, and taxes. Consider how bad it would be if your game landed on pirated platforms in such a case. If you can’t afford the games, you can go for the systems like Xbox Gamepass. These types of systems can apply local pricing.
Not worth the risk
We should consume video games that we use as a tool for 2-3 hours of entertainment daily, as they should normally be. In this way, any malicious software entering your computer can cause big problems.
Try to access the games from channels such as Steam, Origin, and Epic Games so that you do not encounter surprise credit card statements for the sake of not paying the $60 price. If the prices push you to this, you can collect the free games via Epic Games or the Gamepass service of Xbox. Also, remember, F2P games can be pretty fun too.
