Slay the Princess dev encourages players to pirate its viral game instead of watching it on YouTube
"You can always buy a copy later if you think the game was worth your money."
Indie dev Black Tabby Games has deleted a series of tweets in which the studio had encouraged would-be fans to pirate the game after it went viral courtesy of a Markiplier playthrough.
Initially, Black Tabby encouraged players to hop on over to Steam and buy a copy themselves before watching a YouTube series, as the game is described as being "wildly reactive to your choices", and "every playthrough [is] personalised" to the person playing it.
As spotted by PCGN, even though Black Tabby threw up a Steam sale to entice players to pick it up, it then went even further, suggesting players pirate a copy if they don't have the money to purchase the game legitimately right now.
"For folks tuning in to the Markiplier Slay the Princess series – if you haven’t played on your own yet, the best viewing experience will be if you watch it after playing. The game is wildly reactive to your choices, to the level of every playthrough being personalised," the studio said on social media platform, X.
"Also you should watch the Markiplier Let's Play, the first episode was extremely good. Anyways, Steam Summer Sale starts on [27th June]. If you want to wait for a discount, pirate it first.
![“For folks tuning in to the Markiplier Slay the Princess series — if you haven’t played on your own yet, the best viewing experience will be if you watch it after playing. The game is wildly reactive to your choices, to the level of every playthrough being personalized. Also you should watch the Markiplier Let’s Play, the first episode was extremely good. Anyways, Steam Summer Sale starts on [Thursday June 27]. If you want to wait for a discount, pirate it first. Or if you can’t afford the game in general, pirate it! No skin off our back, and you can always buy a copy later if you think the game was worth your money. And then watch Mr. Plier.”](https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/Screenshot-2024-06-23-at-16.27.54.png?width=1920&height=1920&fit=bounds&quality=80&format=jpg&auto=webp)
"Or if you can't afford the game in general, pirate it!" a third tweet added. "No skin off our back, and you can always buy a copy later if you think the game was worth your money. And then watch Mr. Plier."
"I was pretty excited the [sic] watch the playthrough, as I wanted to play it but had no cash [right now] due to being made redundant, but seeing you say that I will go pirate it right now, and when I get a new job il pick it up," one fan replied.
"Have fun!" Black Tabby responded, in one of few tweets that remain online. "Steam should automatically pick up saves from a pirated copy if you decide to buy the full version down the line ^^.
(But [please] prioritise your own financial well-being)."
Slay the Princess released back in October 2023, with just the following in the game's description: "You're here to slay the princess. Don't believe her lies".
You can buy the dark visual novel now for 20 percent off on Steam, or try the demo, which is free. A console version is expected sometime in autumn/Q3 2024.