piracy Archives

AppWizard

April 25, 2025

Fallout creator laments the loss of the game’s earliest development materials: ‘I had that in digital form and was ordered to destroy it’

Tim Cain, the creator of the original Fallout, shared insights on his YouTube channel about his career and the game's origins, including the purposes of the Vaults and the game's setting in 2161. He recounted a past incident with publisher Interplay, where he was compelled to destroy a collection of early Fallout materials, including design notes and game builds, to avoid legal conflict. Cain highlighted the industry's failure in game preservation, noting that when he left Fallout, he was instructed to destroy his entire archive. A study indicated that about 87% of all games created are now unplayable without piracy or archival visits, underscoring the challenges in preserving both games and development materials.

TrendTechie

April 25, 2025

Ремастер Days Gone мгновенно слили на торренты

Bend Studio has released a remastered version of its original zombie action game, Days Gone, without any anti-piracy measures. This remastered version is available in a Portable format on the "green steam" platform, packaged as unpacked folders and occupying approximately 62 GB of space. The original game debuted on PlayStation in 2019. The remaster includes graphical enhancements and new features such as Horde Mode, an Arcade mode with a single life or speed challenges, game speed settings, and new graphical modes for the PS5, including an "Enhanced" mode with PSSR support for PS5 Pro.

TrendTechie

April 24, 2025

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 даже не пришлось взламывать — игра уже на торрентах

The game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been released without protective measures against piracy, making it accessible to the public, as announced by the hacking group RUNE. The game's objective is to reach the Goddess Artist and disrupt a recurring curse that erases individuals whose ages match a specific number on a monolith.

Winsage

April 23, 2025

When Microsoft made the Windows as a Service pivot

Former Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer discussed the company's shift from paid upgrades to a Windows as a Service model, highlighting the challenges faced after the success of Windows 7 and the disappointing reception of Windows 8. He noted that Microsoft made Windows 10 available as a free upgrade for users of Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, which allowed the company to gather valuable telemetry data while introducing users to subscription services. However, the telemetry raised privacy concerns among users, as it included advertising and upsell mechanisms. Plummer expressed a desire for a version of Windows Pro without telemetry and advertising, indicating he would pay for such a product. He also mentioned that the transition to a service model helped address piracy by offering free upgrades to users with non-genuine copies of Windows.

TrendTechie

April 16, 2025

Overclockers.ru: Заблокированный в России торрент-трекер Rutracker временно недоступен из-за сбоя у провайдера

Intermittent disruptions on the Rutracker torrent tracker have been reported since April 13, affecting access for users from various countries. The administration attributes the issues to a malfunction with a cloud service provider and expects normal functionality to resume soon. No torrent data has been lost, and the challenges are related to access. Rutracker, which has been banned in Russia since 2015, recorded over 30 million visits in February 2025 and has approximately 2.5 million active torrents. It is the largest Russian-language torrent tracker, operational since 2004, and originally known as Torrents.ru until 2010. The platform also attracts English-speaking visitors seeking rare torrents.

Winsage

April 9, 2025

Microsoft’s worst software flop was secretly packed with Windows for years

Microsoft Bob, launched in 1995 as a user interface to simplify computer navigation, sold only around 30,000 copies before being discontinued. In 2001, during the development of Windows XP, Microsoft included an encrypted version of Bob on the installation CDs to fill 30 MB of unused space and deter piracy. This decision was made to slow down users with dial-up connections attempting to illegally copy the operating system. The developer found floppy disk images of Microsoft Bob, encrypted them, and added them to the Windows XP CD, meaning that purchasers of Windows XP received a copy of this previously unsuccessful software.

TrendTechie

April 6, 2025

Overclockers.ru: Порт The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered был слит на торренты менее чем за 24 часа

The Last of Us Part 2 was released on April 3, 2025, and was pirated within 24 hours of its launch, appearing on various torrent sites. Initial player engagement is lower than its predecessor, with a peak concurrent player count of 28,134 compared to 36,496 for the first game. The sequel has better performance than the first installment, which suffered from significant optimization issues, but it still has reports of bugs and graphical artifacts. Digital Foundry's analysis indicates that while the sequel surpasses the original in several areas, it also has abrupt frame rate drops and requires a powerful graphics card, affecting accessibility.

AppWizard

April 6, 2025

Unfinished Version of ‘Minecraft Movie’ Leaks Online as Film Sets Soars Past Box Office Expectations

An unfinished version of “A Minecraft Movie” has leaked onto piracy websites, featuring incomplete visual effects, raising concerns about the film's security during production. Despite this leak, the film is projected to earn 0 million by the end of the weekend, having made million on its opening day, the highest for 2025 so far. Warner Bros. and Legendary are working to remove the unauthorized version from piracy sites. The film has received lukewarm reviews from critics but is attracting a strong audience turnout, primarily from Gen Z viewers, who are largely indifferent to critical opinions.

TrendTechie

April 5, 2025

Ремастер культовой The Last of Us Part II только вышел на ПК, а его сразу же взломали и слили на торренты

The remastered version of The Last of Us Part II has been released on PC, available on Steam and Epic Games, but is not accessible in the CIS regions. It includes a Russian voiceover. The game does not feature Denuvo protection, which may have led to a quick breach and online dissemination of game files. Originally released on PlayStation 4 in 2020, it continues the story of Ellie and Joel set five years after a pandemic in America. The game has received over 300 awards, including "Game of the Year."

BetaBeacon

April 4, 2025

Nintendo made its own Switch emulator… for the Nintendo Switch 2

The Nintendo Switch 2 will use emulation to achieve backwards compatibility with original Switch games.