A player openly admitted to using an illegal version of a strategy hit and then shamelessly asked its creators to fix a bug. The developers of Farthest Frontier quickly pointed out that the same user had already made similar demands before.
Piracy remains one of the most sensitive issues in the video game industry, especially for independent studios, but few situations illustrate it as bluntly as the case of Farthest Frontier. Crate Entertainment’s city-building strategy left early access in October 2025, earning a 91 percent positive rating on Steam and carrying a €33.99 price tag. Despite this, one player chose to pirate the game and then went as far as contacting the developers to request a bug fix, openly acknowledging that he was running an illegal copy.
The farcical exchange unfolded on the game’s Steam forums, where the user complained about the in-game time system. “Please fix the in-game time, or at least let us change it to our liking,” he wrote. What initially appeared to be routine feedback quickly raised doubts, as no other players recognized the supposed issue.
Several community members asked him to clarify what bug he was referring to. Eventually, a developer known as Zantai intervened and addressed the matter directly: “Please purchase the game instead of running an ‘unofficial Steam version.’” He later expanded on the situation on Reddit, explaining that the same individual had previously requested fixes related to mods on an unofficial copy, something the studio does not support, as it only works with the legitimate Steam release.
The Player Was Already Well Known to the Farthest Frontier Team
Zantai went on to stress that anyone unwilling to support the studio by buying the game should not expect to be considered part of the official community. He also clarified that Farthest Frontier does not include hidden anti-piracy mechanisms, unlike Grim Dawn, where illegal copies could trigger random errors to expose pirates. In this case, the reported problem was an old bug that had already been fixed in the current version, inadvertently revealing the pirated copy. He concluded with a clear reminder: if an indie game delivers hours of enjoyment, supporting its creators is simply fair. The episode resonated strongly with the community and once again highlighted the very real impact piracy has on smaller studios.
