Russian indie game developer Four Quarters, best known for creating 2021’s endless RPG Loop Hero, has told players to pirate the game if they can't buy it legitimately. Even the game's publisher, Devolver Digital, gives piracy the okay.
Sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine prevent some players from buying Loop Hero through and the Nintendo Switch store.
In a post on Russian social media platform VK, Four Quarters highlights the problems players are facing (thanks, Vice). It said players should “raise the pirate flag” if they’re unable to buy the game through normal methods and shared a link to a torrent of the game.
In a second post, the developer said it had been offered donations by players unable to buy the game. It thanked fans for their generosity but asked them to instead give support to their friends and family.
The game’s publisher, Devolver Digital, later followed with a statement to PC Gamer, throwing its support behind Four Quarters for encouraging players to pirate Loop Hero if they are affected by economic sanctions.
"Devolver Digital fully supports Four Quarters as they navigate this incredibly difficult period," the statement reads.
"We've been communicating consistently with the team to help them wherever possible and were alerted of the statement ahead of time, which we back 100%."
In between encouraging piracy, Four Quarters said it has been continuing development on Loop Hero’s next update. A mobile port of the game will be released after the patch goes live but there are no plans to bring it to PlayStation or Xbox consoles.
Four Quarters previously voiced its opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Twitter.
Several video game publishers have shifted their stance on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine. Microsoft and PlayStation have halted sales in the country, EA has halted sales and removed Russian teams from FIFA 22 and NHL 22, and Amazon Games has stopped the Russian localization of MMO New World.
