The shooter Ultrakill recently celebrated record numbers on Steam. A player shared a photo of how she allegedly pirated the game and received a surprising response from the developer personally.
What did the student do to attract attention? On May 31, 2024, a user under the name “kali” shared a photo showing her installing a game on a laptop. She wrote on the image: “I love pirating indie games.”
The provocative caption caused a stir: Some users felt that indie developers should be supported financially – while piracy for huge publishers is considered more acceptable by some.
The post eventually even reached the solo developer behind the featured game – and he had a surprising response.
The game in question was Ultrakill, a retro shooter known for its fast and brutal gameplay. We introduced you to the shooter in April.
“Culture should not only exist for those who can afford it.”
What did the developer say? Hakita, the developer of Ultrakill, responded to the post on June 2. On X he wrote that while indie games should be supported, “culture should not only exist for those who can afford it.”
The developer explained that his game would not exist if he hadn’t had easy access to movies, music, and other games as a youngster. Support, according to Hakita, does not necessarily have to mean buying a game: “If you don’t have the money, you can support through word-of-mouth.”
You can read the developer’s full response here:
Isn’t that uneconomical? Not necessarily. Hakita explains in a comment how important it can be to simply share a game: “When you pirate a game, enjoy it, report on it, and get someone else to buy it, that’s, at worst, an equivalent trade.”
In the best case, the developer continues, it is an additional sale that wouldn’t have existed otherwise.
In the comments on X and a thread on Reddit, many users express enthusiasm for the developer’s attitude. Some even announce that they now want to buy the game. If you feel the same way, you can find Ultrakill on Steam.
The user herself clarified on June 1 that her post was a so-called “bait,” intended to provoke reactions. She had long owned Ultrakill on Steam and had only used this approach to install the game on her school laptop. To see what it looks like when someone actually plays on Steam through unscrupulous methods, you can learn here: A game has 40,000 players, even though it doesn’t exist
