In September 2011, tinyBuild Games uploaded their own game to The Pirate Bay, a popular torrent site. However, they made a key difference between the game they uploaded and the version they sold: the game characters wore pirate hats, and everything else had a pirate theme. This was done as a humorous way to deal with piracy and to make something funny out of it. The developers said that they did not expect to stop piracy, but rather to make it work for them and to provide something that people actually wanted to pay for .
The Pirate Bay Edition of No Time to Explain received positive feedback from both pirates and legitimate customers. Some pirates even bought the game after playing the pirated version, while some customers requested the pirate hats as an option in the official version. The developers also noticed an increase in sales and exposure after uploading their game to The Pirate Bay. They said that it was a good marketing move and that it helped them connect with their audience.
No Time to Explain (The Pirate Bay Edition) game is an example of how indie developers can use creativity and humor to cope with piracy and to promote their games. It shows that piracy is not always a negative thing, but rather an opportunity to engage with potential customers and to offer them something unique and valuable.
References:
: Indie Devs Upload Their Own Game To The Pirate Bay - Slashdot
: No Time To Explain ï Play on CrazyGames
: What Happened After Three Developers Pirated Their Own Games - Kotaku
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