this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2026
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submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by mecen@lemmy.ca to c/games@lemmy.world
 

This is self explanatory; to all who do not support the idea of ownership, there shall be no more funding, regardless of their game's quality.

Advice:

buy from GOG, avoid single player games which require internet connection or 3 party launchers.

Repost from reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/StopKillingGames/comments/1ugzirg/stoppayinggames/

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[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 84 points 1 month ago (3 children)

It is not self-explanatory. You needed to explain it. On its face, it sounds like it's saying to just pirate. I can get behind the message, but these three words aren't it. I know that coming up with effective, catchy slogans is hard, but this one's not going to do well.

[–] mecen@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Not pay and even if pirate don't promote these games

[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago (4 children)

If you're endorsing piracy as a political stance in any way, I don't see it gaining traction. People need to be paid for their work; especially those who built a product for you that's meant to last and can't be taken away from you. I don't know how you convey that in a three- or four-word slogan, but I don't think this one does it.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 19 points 1 month ago (3 children)

People need to be paid for their work

The dogged insistence that piracy of a corporate product impacts the pay of it's employees neglects how the wage system works.

[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (4 children)

The wages only appear if the thing they produce creates profits for the corporation. If they continually produce something that doesn't sell, they won't have a job anymore. And I'll raise you another part of this equation. If you pirated Assassin's Creed: Shadows because you hate Ubisoft or whatever, that game will take somewhere between 35 and 65 hours for most people to finish, according to How Long to Beat. That's 35 to 65 hours that you weren't spending in some other game, perhaps a game that respects your values enough that you'd part with your money to play. Maybe that's Kingdom Come: Deliverance II or The Alters or Knights in Tight Spaces; whatever your preferences are, there's some other game that also didn't get your money because you were playing that pirated game instead, and I picked those three examples because they're recent and run a range of different developer/publisher models while still being DRM-free.

[–] athatet@lemmy.zip 19 points 1 month ago (5 children)

What are you talking about? Game devs are constantly being laid off even after the product they create, creates profits for the corp.

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[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The wages only appear if the thing they produce creates profits for the corporation.

Would you take a job that requires years to complete and forego wages until it retails?

Nobody actually works like that.

[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

No, they typically don't. That's more what startups do. In the corporate world, the schedules are amortized, but the money has to come from somewhere.

[–] nogooduser@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

You’re right. It often comes from the previous game but if that game doesn’t do well then the chances of there being another are greatly reduced.

[–] Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

And yet there are free indie games out there that are generally better than the corp funded crap. Creators will create, no matter what happens.

[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

You'll find far fewer of them creating when they need to spend more of their time at a job that will allow them to feed their families. And I don't think the games I've found for free (actually free, not given away for free once as a promo) have tended to be better than the paid ones.

[–] Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I've put more hours into Infiniminer, Minetest/Luanti, Industry, Dopewars, dnd, dopewars, and various Twine/Frotz games than any corporate games. When I do want an FPS (rare), I look at Doom sourceports and maybe Cube/Sauerbraten.

And there's the real time-murderer: Nethack.

[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

To each their own, but I'd say none of those compare to Baldur's Gate 3, Elden Ring, and Skullgirls.

[–] Coelacanth@feddit.nu 4 points 1 month ago

Having a personal taste and preference that lets you enjoy free indie and/or old DOS games is great for your wallet, saying these games are "generally better" than paid-for games funded by corporations is wild to me.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The wages only appear if the thing they produce creates profits for the corporation.

That's entirely untrue. Plenty of people get paid to make games that flop.

[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (10 children)

Not for more than one or two games in a row.

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[–] nightlily@leminal.space 1 points 1 month ago

The dogged ignorance of gamers as to the financial reality of game devs neglects the fact that launch profitability bonuses are the only thing that lifts many of them out of a minimum wage bracket.

[–] MiddleAgesModem@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Living in some fantasy land where never paying artists for their work magically results in them being compensated is pointless.

If you want to pirate, go ahead. I have. I don't pretend it's the "moral" thing to do.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

never paying artists for their work

In a corporate setting, wages pay the artists prior to the games' release. And the artists don't see additional revenue after it's release.

[–] mecen@lemmy.ca 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Well if single player game needs to connect to publisher sever to play then you don't own this game and piracy is just preservation. I'm not endorsing piracy, but not condemning it.

[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I agree with the first sentence, but that's what I feel this slogan does a poor job of reinforcing.

[–] Cherry@piefed.social 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I would argue in some ways piracy is a progressive form of demonstration against a systematic problem, and in this case the bigger studies that milk users and take advantage of those doing the work.

So telling people not to advocate with their form of protest is a bit unfair, it takes all tactics to get change. Its a bit like telling someone not to go out and march because you don't like that approach. People should get paid, but fairly. and consumers shouldn't be fleeced....So my sympathy for the studios involved is little theres been plenty of time to talk...they didnt listen, infact they stuck two fingers up.

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[–] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 month ago (3 children)

People need to be paid for their work;

Then they need to quit fucking over their paying customers

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[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 month ago

it already has traction

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I am going to be frank, most people don't care about piracy. You making it the crux of this issue is a red hearing and disingenuous. It is something a corporate shill would bring up.

[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Being frank, nothing will come of a movement about consumer rights if it looks like you just want to get things for free.

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Listen, as long as we allow corporations to ruin culture we will never be happy. There is no magical world where we respect copyright and corporate rule and get what we want.

Your opinion is simply wrong for multiple reasons. That is okay.

[–] Katana314@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Picture a neutral voter reading two different headlines. Importantly, picture the voter’s reaction. How they show support in legislative bodies is important.

1: Purchases of newer video games have gone way down. Consumers are reportedly pirating them instead.

“God, the younger generation is so incredibly entitled. People slave away on these things and they just want to steal them? Makes me think that ballot question they had about ‘Stop Killing Games’ was just about making them easier to steal. What pathetic thieves.”

2: Purchases of newer video games have gone way down. Consumers are reportedly buying many indie games instead.

“Wow, I should look into some of these ‘indie’ games if they’re so good. Sounds like there’s a lot of money in them now! If they spend that much on the hobby, I guess it makes sense they’d push that legislation about consumer rights.”

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Picture actual headlines.

Gaming is pricing people out of the hobby

You don't own what you purchase

The major players are using their monopoly powers to drive up prices

All the major studios that make the games you love were bought up and now are being shuttered

AI is replacing programmers and artists

Also, we ain't winning this battle by convincing the poors to care about video games preservation.

[–] hirihit640@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

What game company has monopoly powers?

[–] Katana314@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

I’m going to guess he’ll say all of them. After all, Squirrel with a Gun devs are the only ones allowed to sell copies of Squirrel with a Gun.

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Steam currently has a 75% market share and has been engaging in price fixing for years now.

[–] hirihit640@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago

Fair enough, Steam has been criticized for their 30% cut

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[–] nuko147@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Gabe Newell on Video Game Piracy (Full Version, HQ) (2009)

Basically, if they (publishers) want money, they should stop being cunts to their costumers.