My default position on piracy is that it is wrong and should not be done. Entertainment has value and if you enjoy entertainment then you should be willing to pay for it. However, I also acknowledge that it is not always a simple, black-and-white situation. So let's talk about Danger Gazers, a "post-apocalyptic rogue-lite top-down shooter" that was released earlier this month and saw a huge boost in sales after its developer uploaded it to The Pirate Bay.

Danger Gazers is $10 on Steam, but if you don't want to pay $10, that's fine." The torrent was officially offered by ShotX. This is the latest DRM-free version (1.1.0) of Danger Gazers." My only request as a developer is that if you like Danger Gazers and want more indie games in the future, please consider supporting and purchasing it."

Developer Shota Bobokhidze further elaborated on why he shared the game on TPB on Reddit last week. He said, "Some people can't afford to buy the game, some want to play the game before they buy it, some don't want to buy the game. We are just trying to help those people and make the best of this situation," he wrote. [Even if you don't buy the game, there are many ways to show your support by spreading the word about DG, sharing torrents, giving feedback, or whatever else you can think of. And lastly, I hope you enjoy playing the game.

Bobokhidze told TorrentFreak that the release of TPB was not a "planned PR effort" and was not promoted on social media or the studio's website because they wanted to reach the piracy community specifically. Nonetheless, so far the response has been "amazing" and "sales have been noticeably up," he told Polygon. [And not only that, but kind people have gone out of their way to donate more than double [the $10 purchase price]. I appreciate the clarity of my message and all the support."

Steam numbers are still dismal: according to the Steam chart, Danger Gazers' all-time peak simultaneous player count is 7, which is not good. However, the game is also available on Itch.io and is currently on sale. (Itch.io allows buyers to pay more than the list price for the game if they wish.) Bobokhidze said on his Discord server that he also plans to launch a Patreon