After Taking on SKG, Here's What Happened to Indie Dev Influencer Pirate Software

There was a time when indie game developer and YouTube influencer Pirate Software was best known for his takes on games, gaming content, and efforts as part of a ferret rescue.

That was, of course, before the Stop Killing Games controversy that swept him up in it.

Pirate spoke out against the SKG movement, which proposed to prevent developers from shuttering games like League of Legends once they stopped providing live server content.

Pirate's take was wildly unpopular, leading to a number of falling dominoes, which affected his follower count and may have changed the course of his YouTube career.

What exactly happened to Pirate Software? Here's what we know.

The SKG movement launched in April 2024 thanks to the creator Ross Scott, also known as Accursed Farms. According to Know Your Meme, SKG is "a series of government petitions aimed at preventing publishers from revoking the ability to play video games, such as live service games, that have already been purchased in full by their players."

This would affect games like League of Legends, which exists online as a series of multiplayer servers.

Without the initiative, gamers fear, people could lose money if their online games shut down.

However, not everyone is convinced. For instance, Pirate waded into the controversy with what some consider to be a hot take, suggesting that it's too far-reaching and "dangerous" for developers to determine that they have to make the games playable without the client-server structure and online components.

Pirate added that these types of games were always advertised as online-only, and shutting them down after the online component is closed makes sense.

Ross Scott clapped back against Pirate's criticism and worried that he misunderstood that entire movement, endangering SKG. According to KYM, Pirate posted on X (formerly Twitter) and later deleted a series of points about how Ross seems to be courting controversy, and how the drama between them has hurt the community.

A number of high-profile gamer reactions have led to what appears to be Pirate taking a hit in his follower count and being portrayed as the "bad guy."

After his popularity waned due to his battle against Stop Killing Games, it's no surprise that detractors and critics were looking for anything they could find to discredit the YouTuber.

Enter: the MaimFace controversy.

Early in 2025, a user on X called @BestFriendKick posted, "The 16-year-old girl referred to as 'WinglessAmoto' was employed to make these sexually charged avatars. She worked on a commission basis, where she would only get paid when her creations were sold. PirateSoftware allegedly fired her for not producing enough work, citing reasons like her missing meetings and not working enough due to technical issues with her tablet."

The user added, "The conversation logs showed him belittling her work ethic, despite knowing she was underage, which raises concerns about grooming and exploitation since he was employing her in a role involving the creation of sexual content" (excerpts via Sportskeeda).

They concluded, "After their falling out, PirateSoftware allegedly reported her for being underage to Second Life, which could be seen as an attempt to retaliate or cover his tracks rather than a genuine concern for legal compliance, given he was aware of her age beforehand."

Additionally, the user alleged, "He continued to sell her avatars without compensating her further, which was part of the controversy."

However, Pirate was quick to clap back, writing on his own X account that "WinglessAmoto" is actually X user @MaimFace, adding, "Stop spreading bulls--t allegations. Both @MaimFace and I have shut this s--t down for over a year. MaimFace is Wingless Emoto, the proposed victim you morons keep trying to spin tales about."

@MaimFace felt compelled to speak out and corroborate Pirate's story, writing on X, "I'm wingless emoto, I really was 17, and nothing sexual happened. If anything had happened, I would have outed him in 2008." They shared an example of their work, which appeared to be "furries," or anthropomorphic animals, with nothing inherently sexual about them.

@MaimFace added, "Also, these avatars are not 'sexually explicit'."

So, despite the furor around the allegations, it would seem that the minor involved in the case denies any allegations of sexual harassment or unfair compensation, which makes it look like those who accused Pirate may be guilty of sour grapes.

While many gamers have legitimate complaints against Pirate's stances, this, at least, isn't something to hate him for.