Piracy is a bit of a touchy subject nowadays, especially in gaming (as opposed to on the high seas?). Whether it’s justified as skimming a little off the top from huge corporations, or of unfairly taking from the legitimate income of a developer.
But it’s still a widely supported concept, as we saw when a popular Sims 4 pirating tool was taken down by its creator, leaving the community saddened.
On the high seas
By now, if you’re a dedicated fan of The Sims 4 you’ll probably have run across this news. But for those just joining us, the creator of the popular Sims 4 Updater, which allowed players to access DLC without paying for it, has quit the scene.
It’s news that has sent shockwaves out amongst those unable or unwilling to pay for the large amounts of DLC The Sims 4 now boasts. And while I’m not about to cast moral aspersions on piracy, it seems this decision wasn’t made due to any legal issues they faced.
Instead, it appears the entire reason boiled down to Anadius feeling a lack of gratitude from the community. This is something which many creators have faced, but in this case, after expressing their displeasure, they decided to metaphorically pack up shop and go.
More than piracy?
Now, this is a pretty cut-and-dry story. But it is a weird sort of parable. While piracy is a bit of an extreme example, it’s worth noting more conventional modders and content creators quitting the scene due to issues such as harassment is nothing news.
For one, given how expensive DLC is, it’s no surprise a piracy scene for The sims 4 has cropped up. And as far as community creators are concerned it’s an indicator of how fragile the presence of tools like this, and more, can be.
Ultimately, whether it’s UGC or piracy, creators take it upon themselves to get involved at their own expense. And all too often it seems that it’s forgotten these people aren’t obligated to continue doing what they do.
So if they feel the need, as Anadius clearly did, they can up and leave without warning.
