Jason Hall, aka ‘Thor,’ the face of Pirate Software, has left Offbrand Games amid an absurd storm of internet criticism and review bombings precipitated by the stand he took against the growing Stop Killing Games (SKG) movement. This exit of Hall shows how a campaign originally aimed at preservation has moved into further encompassing the bigger option of holding a person accountable versus online outrage and parallel blurred lines of guilt by association.
Controversy Clouds Game for the Wrong Reasons
Rivals of Aether II was not under the spotlight as it was poorly launched or had badly designed gameplay;-it was a philosophical disagreement. On June 27, 2025, Ludwig Ahgren, Offbrand Games co-founder and huge stream personality, addressed the eerie infestation of negative reviews on the game’s Steam page and lashing in frustration:“Such a bummer Rivals 2 is getting any s**t for this… People are now review bombing the game because Pirate Software, who has no personal stake in the game, works at Offbrand Games? 😔 Feels wrong.”Although Hall had nothing to do with making the game, the mere association of his vocal presence with Offbrand’s publishing label made Rivals 2 inadvertently borne of the impact of review bombings.
Pirate Software Responds to the Backlash
Amid the noise, Hall made his position clear, he would be stepping away from the company to stop further harm to its portfolio:“I am no longer working at @offbrand_games. People were attacking all of the games we were publishing and trying to mass review bomb them. You can dislike the things I say, but this kind of behavior is unhinged.”He added that while he learned a lot and cherished his time at the studio, he hoped OffBrand could continue without being distracted by his presence.
What’s Behind the Movement?
At the eye of the controversy lies the Stop Killing Games campaign, initiated by Ross Scott of Accursed Farms. The movement is for digital game preservation, resisting companies that deactivate or remove any sort of access to games that consumers have paid for. Ubisoft’s attempt to kill The Crew in late 2023, in spite of its offline side became the prime flashpoint.
The Fallout of Online Movements
This issue has stirred the growing tension within the community of players, when advocacy hits the limits of absolutism, is there room left for that said character to disagree? Can an individual, in the political sense, say that he supports the kernel idea on which the movement is based wherein he does not support every method that the movement employs? That answer has become ambiguous for now.
Pirate Software’s escapade out of Offbrand Games represents more than just a personnel change: it is an expression of the conflict between digital activism and personal branding on the modern internet. Though the SKG movement is gaining some traction, the internal rifts and external confrontation act as a reminder: solidarity can be so thin in the internet age if the internet decides that there is but one proper way to save games.