{"rewrite":{"id":"r_1d1c1e8b629cf9ead432a538","clusterId":"c_82b90c8e0c616688902bf6d6","slug":"steam-dev-says-99-of-new-players-are-pirates-as-sales-drop","model":"deepseek-v4-flash:free","headline":"Steam Dev Says 99% of New Players Are Pirates as Sales Drop","summary":"HeyNau, developer of the Steam Early Access game Burgie's Cozy Kitchen, reports that 99% of recent new players are using pirated versions. A PC pirated version spread rapidly, and official sales fell by nearly 40%. The developer partnered with a Chinese publisher to remove mobile pirated versions and is strengthening servers.","whyItMatters":"The developer's data shows pirated versions now dominate new player counts, and he now doubts that piracy helps promote the official version.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eBurgie\u0026#39;s Cozy Kitchen, a hamburger shop management idle game in Early Access on Steam, has seen a surge in unauthorized versions. Developer HeyNau reported on Reddit that a PC pirated version spread rapidly, and when checking the most recent 100 new players, 99% were pirate accounts, many traced to the Chinese site XDGAME.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe developer had already dealt with a mobile pirated version that drew over 600,000 players. He partnered with a Chinese publisher and removed several mobile pirated versions. The PC version appeared as official sales dropped by nearly 40% and active player numbers decreased. HeyNau released a mod that adds Chinese streaming platform integration as a PC-exclusive feature, which he thinks may have contributed to the rise in PC pirate players.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Burgie's Cozy Kitchen dev says 99% of new players are pirates. PC pirated version spread, sales dropped nearly 40%. Dev now doubts piracy helps promotion.","twitterPost":"Burgie's Cozy Kitchen dev: 99% of new players are pirates. PC pirated version spread, sales down nearly 40%. Dev now doubts piracy helps promotion.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"The developer of Burgie's Cozy Kitchen reports that 99% of recent new players are using pirated versions, with a PC pirated version spreading rapidly. Official sales dropped by nearly 40%, and the developer now doubts that piracy helps promote the game.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Automaton\",\"url\":\"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20260724-456577/\",\"title\":\"Steam Game Developer Frustrated: 99% of New Players Are Pirates, Server Taken Down and Sales Plummet\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4609,"outputTokens":534,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1786057119,"createdAt":"2026-08-06T22:50:25.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-08-06T22:54:59.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-06T22:50:25.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_82b90c8e0c616688902bf6d6","canonicalTitle":"あるSteamゲーム開発者、「新規勢の99％が海賊版プレイヤー」と頭を抱える。サーバーを落とされ、売上もごっそり減る悪夢","representativeArticleId":"a_653a408668f5ac60739c9f75","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Burgie's Cozy Kitchen\"],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-07-24T10:14:53.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-07-24T10:14:53.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-06T22:55:00.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Automaton","url":"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20260724-456577/","title":"あるSteamゲーム開発者、「新規勢の99％が海賊版プレイヤー」と頭を抱える。サーバーを落とされ、売上もごっそり減る悪夢"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Burgie's Cozy Kitchen"],"studios":[],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}