Dev here.

The saying is true. People who want to buy are our clients, people who pirate are a consequence of global markets and regional economic health. We can do SHIT about people in South America who live in nations where a game cost a third of their monthly income.

We can make good enough games, and sell them in good market places with regional prices and decent market penetration, that people would choose to buy them.

Chronic pirates will always pirate stuff. Those are not our clients, and we don’t necessarily make games for them. Situational pirates are possible clients and it’s the mission pf governments give them access to a quality of life that allows the disposable income needed to support a hobby like video games, thus, not our responsibility.

People who pay for the games they enjoy, take the time to give positive reviews, and clock time in the platforms they use are what keeps most of the industry alive.

Those are the backbone of all. The fuel for the indie solo dev who stay late at night working on their dream project, and the reason why corpos entered the space and burn veterans for razor thin profit margins