Jason Thor Hall is not only successful on Twitch under the name “Pirate Software”, but also publishes indie games on Steam. To thwart pirates’ plans, the developer came up with something very special.
What kind of developer is this? Jason Thor Hall worked at Blizzard and Amazon before founding his own indie studio Pirate Software. He also streams on Twitch under this name – and with great success. We have already taken a closer look at his success story on MeinMMO.
The studio has released 2 games on Steam so far: the RPG Heartbound, which has been in early access since 2018, and Champions of Breakfast, a crazy arcade-style shoot ’em up that’s all about the most important meal of the day rotates.
As our colleagues at 3D Juegos report, the developer found an unusual solution to protect his game from pirates.
Champions of Breakfast is currently not available on Steam in Germany, presumably due to a legal regulation that came into force in this country on November 15, 2024. You can get an impression of the game here:
The launch trailer for Champions of Breakfast is about the most important meal of the day
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Developer boasts of “unpirateable” game
This is how the trick worked: As Hall revealed in a stream on Twitch, he used the achievements on Steam to protect his game from pirates. These achievements are usually awarded in games for reaching certain moments in the plot or for achieving special achievements. They have no further function.
In Champions of Breakfast, however, the achievements also serve as save states. To this end, the game has an impressive 160 achievements that need to be unlocked. Players can obtain them by killing a certain number of enemies or defeating a boss.
When you start the game, it checks which achievements you have unlocked on Steam – and then loads the corresponding progress and unlocked skills.
If you play Champions of Breakfast illegally outside of Steam, the next time you open the game you will find that all progress has been lost: After all, there are no Steam achievements that can be loaded.
The developer himself explains the principle in this clip:
However, this system is not quite as “unpiratable” as the developer makes it out to be. Clever pirates can certainly find a way to get around the restrictions. Or, as users joke in the comments on YouTube, enjoy the game as a “roguelike” – with permadeath and no permanent progression.
Hall finds his solution to protect his game, at least “to die for.”
According to the tracking website Steam Hunters, none of the players registered there have yet managed to unlock all 160 achievements.
Media professionals have been fighting the fight against pirates for decades. But not all developers see it that way. A solo dev had a surprising response when someone “stole” his game: Student brags about illegally downloading an indie game – Gets a response from the developer