SoylentNews

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard

Acid Wizard Studio, the creators of the popular Darkwood game, have shared a copy on The Pirate Bay. The developers want to help out people who don't have the financial means to buy a legal copy of the game and also prevent them from going to unauthorized key sharing sites.

Online piracy is an issue that affects many industries, and indie game development is certainly no exception.

While some developers see piracy as an evil that needs to be rooted out as soon as possible, others are more open to the motivations behind it.

The average game fan may not have the financial means to try out all the new titles that come out every month, for example. While these people are not by any means entitled to a free copy, sometimes the human element resonates with developers.

Acid Wizard Studio, the three college friends from Poland behind the horror game Darkwood, started thinking about this when they recently received an email from a desperate young fan.

They recount how a fan, who loved the game, asked for a refund because he was worried about his parent's reaction to the cost. They realized this was not an isolated occurrence and decided to do something very unusual in the videogame industry: make a free copy available on a torrent! The story concludes:

"We have just one request: if you like Darkwood and want us to continue making games, consider buying it in the future, maybe on a sale, through Steam, GOG or Humble Store. But please, please, don't buy it through any key reselling site. By doing that, you're just feeding the cancer that is leeching off this industry."

People who are into horror games can download a copy of the game here, or buy it here. The Imgur post with the full story of the developers, spotted via PC Gamer, is well worth a read too.

Source: https://torrentfreak.com/darkwood-creators-share-game-on-the-pirate-bay-for-those-who-cant-pay-170826/

Original Submission