Following a successful launch for Cities: Skylines, publisher Paradox Interactive noticed a significant increase in the amount of people who are pirating the game. Rather than giving the gaming world an unnecessary lecture on why piracy is destroying the gaming industry, the company says they aren't that concerned about it.
Instead, Paradox sees that the best method of combating piracy is to continue support for the game after it has been released. Shams Jorjani, VP at Paradox, said that the company's plan is to "make a great game even better through free updates - making it more convenient to use Steam instead." By making the paid experience superior to the pirated experience, Paradox hopes it will encourage people to buy the game.
This method of cutting down the level of piracy has already worked for Paradox. When the publisher released Magicka, continual free updates as frequently as 14 in 13 days saw some people choose to buy the game for sheer convenience. Receiving automatic updates through Steam is, after all, much more convenient than having to manually download each update.
It's great to see a company like Paradox taking such a sensible approach to combating piracy. Rather than slapping on aggressive DRM or restricting the choices of gamers, the company has acknowledged that like Netflix, offering their product in a convenient, easy to use and better way is the key to winning over pirates.
If you haven't as yet played Cities: Skylines, a modern take on a city building simulator, be sure to check out our review here.