Piracy - When a $60 Game Meets a $100 Income
The internet wasn’t built with us in mind
Piracy isn’t rebellion
It’s survival
In Pakistan and similar regions, piracy isn’t some underground black market. It’s the default. The norm. The only way most people access software, games, books, or even education.
Not because people don’t want to pay.
But because the system never gave them a chance to.
This isn’t About Theft. It’s about Access
Piracy is often painted as digital theft.
But that framing falls apart once you zoom out and look at the bigger picture.
When streaming services block entire regions, and when students need cracked software just to finish homework or cracked games to enjoy in their free time - piracy becomes an infrastructure.
Why This Piece Exists
First of all, this article isn’t a defense of piracy.
It’s an investigation into why it exists so stubbornly, and what it reveals about how the internet systematically shuts people out.
And the truth is: if you really want to fight piracy, you have to understand it first.
So, let’s get into all that.
Global View: What Really Drives Piracy?
Piracy today is less about simple theft and more about the complex realities of global economic disparity and technological infrastructure gaps. One of the main reasons for this whole issue is the price-to-income mismatch across many parts of the world.
In places like Pakistan, Egypt, or Indonesia, paying for premium software, streaming, or games isn’t just hard. It’s impossible.
The price tags are global.
But the paychecks aren’t.
And when a tool costs more than your monthly income, piracy becomes survival.
No Card, No Entry
Most global platforms assume you’ve got a credit card. In many countries, that’s a myth.
No PayPal. No Visa. Just local wallets, patchy mobile payments.
And even if someone wants to buy a legit copy, they can’t.
That’s not a user failure. That’s a system failure.
Now zoom out.
Consider an average teenager in Pakistan or another low-income country who wants to purchase a game. No credit card, no PayPal, just a dad who doesn’t see the point of spending money on “games.” What options does that kid have?
One - get shut out.
Two - pirate it.
Most choose option two, not because they’re thieves, but because it’s their only choice.
Real-World Workarounds
Argentina
Even with regional pricing, people still can’t afford subscriptions. Currency crashes wipe out their buying power overnight, and this forces them to switch to torrent.
Indonesia
Modded APKs and cracked apps are everywhere. Why? Because there’s no other way to get in, and payment walls don’t work if no one can pay.
Egypt
Users lean on VPNs and DNS hacks just to access content that’s geo-blocked or priced out of reach. This isn’t hacking, it’s duct-tape access for a broken internet.
The thing to acknowledge is that piracy isn’t about breaking laws, it’s about filling gaps. Where the internet’s promise doesn’t reach, people build their own routes in.
That’s what piracy really is: an unofficial bridge into a digital world that left them behind.
Pakistan: Where Access = Piracy
In Pakistan, piracy isn’t rebellion. It’s math.
A $60-80 game vs a $100–120 monthly income? That’s not a choice, it’s an equation that never balances.
And even if you wanted to buy legit, good luck. No PayPal. Limited credit card support. No Steam regional pricing. Most global platforms treat countries like Pakistan, Turkey, and Argentina as if they don’t exist or, worse, like they’re part of the US.
So what do people do?
They go underground.
You’ve got third-party marketplaces selling game keys - payable via EasyPaisa or bank transfer. No refund, no support, no guarantee. I’ve got a friend who bought FIFA this way. A week later, the account email and password got changed. Gone. Just like that.
Piracy, in this system, is the less risky option.
Walk into any tech market - you’ll still find pirated DVDs, modded PlayStations, and entire cafes running cracked software. For a lot of people, that’s just how tech works.
- Not because they’re cheap.
- Because that’s the only open door.
Payment Is Still a Barrier - Even for Free Content
Tons of games today claim to be free-to-play. But try playing without paying, and you'll quickly hit a wall. Other than that, even paid games still have numerous hidden paywalls that users discover after purchasing the game.
Want some skins in Fortnite? You've got to buy V-Bucks.
Want the full story mode? That’s locked behind a DLC pack.
Want better weapons in Resident Evil? Pay up.
Want to play as that character? That’s another microtransaction.
Even after buying the base game, nothing’s truly free. The grind gets unbearable, and the complete experience sits behind a paywall.
But here’s the kicker:
No local cards = no access.
No Visa, No Game
If you’re in Egypt, Pakistan, or similar regions, and you don’t have an international card, you can’t buy skins, upgrades, or even subscribe to basic streaming plans. Platforms expect Visa. And you’ve got JazzCash or vodfane cash.
So what’s your other option?
Piracy.
You download it once, and it all just works.
No payment blocks. No region locks.
Just the game, in full.
Is it legal? No.
But is it understandable? Absolutely.
The truth is that piracy strips away the artificial walls and gives people the full experience, which is exactly what people want.
Not Just Pakistan: The Global Parity Problem
Piracy isn’t just a local act of rebellion. It’s the ripple effect of a digital economy priced for New York but served to Istanbul and Buenos Aires.
When Pricing Breaks Reality
Platforms like Steam tried regional pricing, so people living in countries that have weaker currencies can enjoy video games, and it worked like a charm… until inflation hit. In late 2023, Steam removed the regional pricing for countries like Argentina and Turkey, forcing users to pay in USD.
What happened next?
A $10 game started costing as much as a full week’s groceries. Indie games were affected heavily because of all this; there was a massive spike in their prices.
And of course, not all games were affected equally, but the prices were affected enough for users to bail. This ultimately led to communities backlashing with posts like “Steam is dead here,” and “Guess I’m pirating everything now.”
In Argentina, economic instability and wild currency swings made even discounted games unaffordable. Same in Turkey, where the lira’s collapse nuked affordability overnight. A $60 game? That’s nearly a month’s pay for some users.
And guess what?
On top of everything else, Argentina also has a gut-wrenching tax on Steam purchases. According to users, “you buy one game for yourself and another for the government.”
Payment Gaps: The Digital Wall
In addition to the pricing problem, we have another problem that I keep mentioning again and again - “Poor accessibility”
Most global platforms still assume you’ve got a credit card. In large parts of the world, that’s a fantasy. No Visa. Just local wallets and patchy mobile payments, which most platforms ignore.
Even if someone wants to pay, they literally can’t.
And this isn’t the user’s fault.
What Should Tech Platforms Actually Do?
Alright, I’ve ranted enough, and by now, you’ve probably seen the pattern.
This isn’t just about people “not wanting to pay.”
It’s about systems that don’t let them.
So the real question is: “What should tech companies do about it?”
Let’s break it down.
Build for the World That Actually Exists
Local pricing isn’t some kind of charity move - it’s survival.
Steam had it. Spotify does it. Netflix learned the hard way.
If you’re charging $15 in the US, that same price won’t fly in countries where $15 is a week’s income.
Other than that.
Big corporations need to realize that not everyone has a credit card.
They should focus on adding local payment options.
Why?
Because that’s what users actually have.
Ignore this reality, and you’re not just pricing people out, you’re sending them straight to piracy sites.
Rethink Access, Not Just Profit
Companies need to realize that “Not everything needs to be online 24/7.”
In countries with unstable internet, support offline modes.
You want users to pay for your service, then give them the option to actually use it, regardless of bandwidth.
Another idea?
Open-source older software or games.
People will still pay for the new stuff. But freeing up legacy content builds loyalty, earns trust, and grows future markets.
And look at the anime industry- once driven by piracy and fan subs.
But look at it now - completely transformed.
Platforms like Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, and others started adapting to what the fans were already doing through piracy and turned it into a global, legitimate business.
Cultural Reality: Piracy as Normal, Not Criminal
Let’s get one thing straight.
In regions like Pakistan, piracy isn’t rebellion.
It’s the default. The way most people grew up exploring tech.
Ask any kid who walked into a gaming café in the 2000s - you didn’t see people worrying about licenses. You saw cracked versions of Windows, pirated DVDs, and USBs full of games passed around like treasure.
All this?
It wasn’t crime, it was culture.
I know, because I lived it.
I used to hit those gaming cafés myself.
Back then, even thinking about owning a debit card gave me chills. None of us had one - hell, we didn’t even have local options. International platforms were built for someone else, not us.
Why?
Because legal access didn’t exist.
Because no one had a credit card.
Because platforms didn’t bother building bridges, they just built walls.
In response to that, people just built their own system.
It’s not about Theft, it’s About Trust
There’s a deep trust gap as well. Global platforms don’t localize properly, and when they do show up, it’s usually with half-baked access and Western pricing.
And then these platforms expect loyalty.
Truth is:
- People don’t pirate because they’re immoral.
- They pirate because they’ve been excluded.
They pirate to play and to create, and crackdowns won’t change that unless something better replaces it.
If you don’t give access, someone else will.
And in this part of the world, that someone is piracy…
The Signal Beneath the Torrent
If you’ve read this far - kudos to you!
You now see the truth: piracy isn’t the problem.
The problem is the signal, pointing straight at everything that’s broken.
Platforms priced for the West.
Payment systems that don’t work.
Limited access.
Piracy was never about rebellion.
It’s what happens when the system forgets you exist.
If tech companies want to fix piracy, they need to fix access first.
Because until then:
The pirated version is the only option.
And if platforms want to grow in emerging markets, they can’t just copy-paste Western strategies. They need to meet users where they are; otherwise, don’t be surprised when those users take matters into their own hands.
Question for you:
What would make you stop pirating? Drop a comment or email us your story.
And hey, if you found any value in this piece, do leave a little feedback.
Let me know what hit, what missed, and what you'd like to see next.
Lastly, stay safe, stay secure.
Until next time…