Madfinger Games has taken to its Facebook page to make an official statement regarding the decision last Friday to remove the $0.99 price tag from Dead Trigger. The decision, which has angered many users who had only recently paid for the game, can be summed up in one word: piracy.

Regarding price drop. HERE is our statement. The main reason: piracy rate on Android devices, that was unbelievably high. At first we intend to make this game available for as many people as possible - that's why it was for as little as buck. - It was much less than 8$ for SHADOWGUN but on the other hand we didn't dare to provide it for free, since we hadn't got XP with free-to-play format so far. - However, even for one buck, the piracy rate is soooo giant, that we finally decided to provide DEAD TRIGGER for free. Anyway - DEAD TRIGGER is not FREEMIUM, it always was and still remains FREE-TO-PLAY, that means, all players are able to play it without IAP! We stand up for this statement, because all members of our team are playing (and enjoying) DEAD TRIGGER without IAP.

According to Madfinger's statement, even though the game was only a solitary dollar, the piracy rate was "unbelievably high," so they decided to just make the game free. Ergo, removing the need to pirate and legally putting the game in the hands of whoever wants to play it.

The statement goes on to clarify that Madfinger considers Dead Trigger a free-to-play game, as opposed to a freemium title (which generally insinuates that you must spend real money to advance in the game). Madfinger has been very clear that it is completely possible to not only play, but finish Dead Trigger without ever having to spend a penny.

So, what happens to those of you who spent a buck on the game prior to it becoming free? It's unlikely that Madfinger will refund the money or offer any sort of in-game currency as a replacement, so consider yourself one of the privileged ones who bought the developers a cup of coffee for making an incredible game. And instead of blaming Madfinger for the decision to remove the price tag, blame the real reason this decision was made: the pirates who were too cheap to spend a measly dollar on the game in the first place.

[Facebook]