New survey sheds light on how UK devs feel about piracy

An overwhelming number of game developers in the UK are adapting their games and business models to best deal with piracy, according to a new survey. UK trade body TIGA asked game studios for their thoughts on piracy issues, and found that 87 percent of those surveyed believe that adopting new business models that better combat piracy is favorable to introducing stricter enforcement. Although 57 percent of those surveyed said that piracy is having an effect on their businesses, 73 percent of overall respondents disagreed that those people found to be illegally downloading games should have their internet connections slowed or cut off. This follows reports over the last few months that UK broadband providers have been collating information on illegal downloaders, with the potential for throttling connections for those found to be committing piracy. 40 percent of those surveyed did, however, believe that educating consumers on the effects of piracy on UK games businesses is still important. Notably, 37 percent of respondents said that they don't believe piracy will be an issue anymore in five years' time, thanks in part to business models like the free-to-play model, and requiring online security checks for games or apps every few days.