The best developer punishments against game piracy showcase the lengths the developers can go to rightfully protect their work.
Digital piracy has existed since the internet took its first steps. Although regulations were fast to follow, digital piracy has become an integral part of the digital world. But, of course, digital piracy comes in different shapes and sizes. Since video games make up a billion-dollar industry filled with big acquisitions and major layoffs, game piracy might be causing the biggest hit in terms of commercial success.
That’s exactly why a great number of developers have integrated punishments against game piracy. Although it’s not a common practice, lots of gaming studios have tried to make their games unplayable for pirates. Below, we listed the best and the most hilarious punishments employed by game developers.
5. Serious Sam 3 and the Undying Scorpion
Serious Sam 3 BFE offers visceral gameplay filled with graphic scenes and monster-slaying action. On top of its addictive combat gameplay, it also features one of the most frustrating punishments against game piracy. Croteam’s 2011 shooter throws a massive, undying scorpion at your way that’s also incredibly fast.
Furthermore, the scorpion follows the player throughout the gameplay, constantly reminding them that they’ve obtained the game through illegal methods.
4. Crysis Warhead and Chicken-Shooting Rifle
Crysis Warhead is a standalone expansion that stands out among the best Crysis games. It also stands out among many other shooters with its chicken-shooting anti-piracy measure.
Crytek, the developer behind the ambitious franchise, incorporates one of the funniest punishments against game piracy. In Crysis Warhead, those who obtained a cracked copy would find themselves equipped with a rather strange rifle. The weapon is weird because it shoots chickens instead of bullets. While this definitely sounds hilarious, the true reason why the developers employed this measure is that the chicken-shooting rifle renders the game unplayable.
Not only the chickens don’t have any effect on the enemies, but shooting too many of them would also result in a game crash.
3. Game Dev Tycoon and Game Piracy
Unlike other games on the list, Game Dev Tycoon comes with a meaningful punishment against game piracy. As it’s a game where you establish your game studio, Game Dev Tycoon wants you to know how it feels when consumers steal your work. To convey its message, the simulation game employs an in-game piracy mechanic that impacts your company’s success.
If you ironically pirated a game about managing a game studio, the game ensures that your virtual products in the game are also subject to piracy. This is an award-deserving anti-piracy measure as it demonstrates the real-world consequences of piracy on the gaming industry. It’s difficult not to appreciate Greenheart Games for incorporating well-thought-out punishments against game piracy.
2. Mirror’s Edge and The Impossible Jump
As a game that’s truly ahead of its time with its ambitious visuals, Mirror’s Edge is all about running and jumping. It’s one of the best games with a great heroine as well. It’s a delight to leap from one skyscraper to another and run on the walls of massive corporate buildings. That’s exactly what the pirated copy of the game takes away from the pirates.
If the game detects that you’re playing a pirated copy, it reduces the movement speed of your character. Moreover, it employs punishment against game piracy right before making a critical jump. In a sense, it prevents you from using a core gameplay mechanic.
1. Arma 2 and Gradual Deterioration of Gameplay
There is no doubt that Arma 2 is one of the most realistic FPS games out there. However, it tends to lose its realism, along with its core gameplay elements, for those who pirate it. That’s because its developer implemented one of the most brutal punishments against game piracy. Called FADE, this system gradually deteriorates the gameplay experience if the player obtains the game illegally.
The FADE slowly but gradually deteriorate the gameplay, rendering it difficult to play. In fact, this process would happen so slowly that a great number of players wasted a ton of time until they realised the issue. For instance, they wouldn’t be able to shoot even the closest targets, as the FADE caused the weapon to spray instead of properly shooting. There is no doubt that Arma 2 rightfully tops the list when it comes to the best punishments against game piracy with its clever degrading system.
Final Thoughts
We still remember players posting about these hilarious anti-piracy measures, revealing that they pirated the said titles. We can’t know how successful they were when it came to driving people who pirated the games to buy the games. But we do know that they increased the popularity of these games.
As of 2024, punishments against game piracy have left their place to Digital Rights Management technologies. With software like Denuvo, game piracy took a solid hit, giving developers and publishers more breathing room in the first weeks following the launch of their games.
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- My journey into the world of video games began at four, when I was first introduced to arcade machines in 1996. Over the past decades, I've been fortunate enough to witness the incredible evolution of gaming, as it has grown from a niche hobby to a thriving art. Today, I'm dedicated to creating content that celebrates all genres of games. We will talk about them at Player.me.
