About

Pirate Software is the online username of James Thor Hall, a streamer, video game developer and ex-Blizzard employee. In 2016, Pirate Software's first indie game, Champions of Breakfast, was released. He is currently developing the indie game Heartbound, a game inspired by Undertale and Earthbound. His father, who was the cinematic director for Blizzard, is the basis of the fat computer nerd from the South Park episode, "Make Love, Not Warcraft." In January 2025, Pirate Software received widespread criticism online after seemingly leaving members of his World of Warcraft Classic hardcore guild, OnlyFangs, to die during a Dire Maul raid, resulting in him being kicked from the server and quitting streaming the game.

Online History

Champions of Breakfast

On April 1st, 2016, Pirate Software uploaded his first video to YouTube,^[1] a trailer for his first developed video game Champions of Breakfast, which was fully released on Steam^[2] on June 23rd of that year. The game is a shooter that was developed using GameMaker

Heartbound

Since as early as October 2016, Pirate Software has been developing Heartbound with a team of three other developers. On February 21st, 2017, he posted a teaser for the game to YouTube^[3] that gained over 620,000 views in eight years. The game is inspired by games including Earhbound and Secret of Mana. The first two of five chapters of the game were released on Steam^[4] in 2018.

Pirate Software continued developing the game throughout the 2020s, streaming much of its development on Twitch.^[5]

Streaming / Content Creation

In 2021, Pirate Software began posting playthroughs and stream VOD content to his YouTube channel, starting on November 1st, 2021, with a playthrough of Here Comes Niko!^[6] Pirate Software consistently uploaded this type of content going forward.

Pirate Software garnered a significant following on Twitch and YouTube throughout the 2020s, with some videos going viral. His YouTube Shorts content, which he began posting in 2022, proved significantly popular. For example, on May 10th, 2022, he uploaded a video to YouTube^[7] titled "Make Video Games" in which he offers viewers reasons why they should develop games, garnering over 1.5 million views in three years.

On September 14th, 2023, Pirate Software uploaded a video to YouTube^[8] Shorts where he explains who his dad is and how he inspired a character in South Park, garnering over 14 million views in two years.

WoW OnlyFangs Drama

Pirate Software WoW OnlyFangs Drama refers to an online controversy stemming from a disastrous run in the dungeon Dire Maul in World of Warcraft Classic hardcore that involved Pirate Software and other creators from the guild OnlyFangs. The run, which occurred in mid-January 2025, ended with two level 60 (the max level) characters dying (meaning their characters were lost due to hardcore mode), leading to intense debate over Pirate Software’s decisions, particularly regarding his use of spells and abilities that might've helped his guildmates escape if he hadn't abandoned them to save himself. Following this incident, the Twitch streamer faced significant backlash from other players and members of the streamer-oriented guild, resulting in him banning over 2,500 troll accounts from his stream. Others, including many of his followers, argued that it was not his fault. The situation sparked numerous discussions of accountability in the failed run, as well as memes and jokes on X / Twitter, Reddit, YouTube and other social media platforms. Ultimately, the backlash resulted in Pirate Software being kicked from the guild and quitting the game to stream other games.^[9]

Accusations of Faking Outer Wilds Gameplay

On January 17th, 2025, a clip from Destiny's stream to /r/livestreamfail^[13] in which he accuses Pirate Software of cheating during his run of Outer Wilds, garnering over 12,000 upvotes in a week. YouTuber^[14] Grapplr covered this on the 21st, garnering over 45,000 views in three days.

Accusations of Faking Animal Well Gameplay

On January 18th, 2025, following the WoW drama, YouTuber^[10] AlbinoLIVE posted a video analyzing footage of Pirate Software's Animal Well playthrough, suggesting that he faked aspects of his playthrough, garnering over 245,000 views in a week.

Online Presence

Pirate Software is active on Twitch, YouTube and X / Twitter.^[11] He also has a website^[12] largely dedicated to his video game development.

Personal Life

Between 2004 and 2016, Pirate Software worked at Blizzard on titles including World of Warcraft and Overwatch. His dad was the cinematic director for Blizzard for 23 years and inspired the nerd character in South Park's Make Love Not Warcraft episode.