Piracy and emulation are often frowned upon by game developers and publishers. However, one developer has decided to open the doors to allow those impacted by the financial issues related to the Russian/Ukrainian conflict to download their game for free. Four Quarters, the team behind Please, Don’t Touch Anything, announced on their forum this week that their newest title, Loop Hero is available as a torrent.
Due to Steam’s ban on transactions from the Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, many players are unable to purchase games. The ban doesn’t affect playing games. This move hit many Russian and Ukrainian developers right where it hurts, limiting their funding and support of dedicated players. Nintendo has similarly put the Russian eShop into maintenance mode, blocking purchases.
Four Quarters raises the pirate flag
In an effort to mitigate the problems, some developers have chosen alternative routes. Four Quarters has taken the torrent path, telling their players to “raise the pirate flag.” The reactions from their community were overwhelmingly supportive, many asking where they could donate to the company in appreciation. The company in turn responded by saying: “We are very grateful to you for your support, but true, everything is fine with us, direct this support to your relatives and friends in this difficult time.”
Four Quarters move to make their game “piratable” is interesting as it is usually something most developers fight against. However, the team explained that “We did not do anything special, because there is nothing wrong with torrents.”
More Loop Hero content on the way
They also announced upcoming content for Loop Hero is in the works.
The link to the Loop Hero torrent is posted on their forum and open to all who are interested. You can also get it here.
As the conflict continues, we may see more such moves from other developers. And since this is always a hot topic button, we’d like to hear your thoughts. Let us know in the comments.
