(Image via @PirateSoftware/YouTube)
Popular game developer and YouTube creator Pirate Software has lost over 100,000 subscribers in just two weeks. The steep decline comes in the wake of growing outrage over his perceived opposition to the Stop Killing Games (SKG) movement, a campaign advocating against companies shutting down online games players have paid for.
The Fallout Begins
The sharp drop began in late June 2025. That’s when Ross Scott, the creator of the Accursed Farms YouTube channel and founder of the SKG initiative, released a fiery video titled The End of Stop Killing Games. In it, he directly called out Pirate Software (real name: Jason Thor Hall) for misrepresenting the movement in an earlier 2023 video.Scott’s message landed hard. His audience is passionate gamers who’ve rallied around the SKG cause and quickly mobilised.
They felt Pirate had downplayed the campaign’s core message: preserving digital game ownership and fighting corporate shutdowns of single-player games. The internet, as expected, responded swiftly.
Subscriber Count Tanks
According to data from Social Blade, Pirate Software’s channel has shed over 110,000 subscribers between June 26 and July 9. The decline peaked on June 26, with a staggering 20,000 lost in a single day. And the numbers haven’t stopped dipping since.
While some creators bounce back from controversies, the pace and consistency of the losses suggest a deeper fracture between Pirate and his long-time followers.
What Is “Stop Killing Games”?
SKG is a grassroots movement aimed at preserving video games in their original, playable forms, especially in light of publishers increasingly shutting down online servers or removing titles from digital storefronts. The movement recently gained huge momentum in the EU, where it crossed 1.2 million signatures on a formal citizens’ initiative, enough to demand attention from lawmakers.
Pirate’s Response Adds Fuel
During a July 4 Twitch stream, Hall addressed the backlash. His tone was defiant, even as he revealed he had been swatted and received death threats. “I hope your initiative gets everything that you asked for, but nothing you wanted,” he said. This comment further inflamed tensions with the SKG community.Critics called his statement dismissive. Supporters of SKG saw it as a hostile rejection of a campaign that has garnered global support from preservationists, developers, and gamers alike.
A Moment Bigger Than One Creator
At the heart of the backlash isn’t just a difference in opinion; it’s a clash of values. The SKG movement has come to symbolise the right to access what you’ve paid for. Pirate Software’s perceived dismissal of that ideal and of the campaign’s legitimacy has struck a nerve.While Hall still commands a sizable audience, the trust has taken a serious hit. Whether he can rebuild from this or chooses to double down remains to be seen.One thing’s clear: the digital preservation fight just got a lot louder.
