Regarding the Public Sale of Don't Starve Together All-Skin Mods on Chinese Second-Hand Platform

[Kaioh]

On 11/22/2025 at 7:39 AM, Yangyuqi said:

  The public sale of Don't Starve Together all-skin mods on Chinese second-hand trading platforms, coupled with a growing number of users adopting them, has become a serious issue. This server-side mod, when deployed as instructed, allows all players in the server to unlock every item and character skin—including all collaborative series with YouTube, Firework, and even skins from the Klei Store (covering the three latest merchandise collections).Although it functions as a server mod, it blatantly infringes upon Klei's interests and undermines players who have legitimately purchased skins through official channels. I initially attempted to report this via email but received no response. As a last resort, I registered an account here to raise awareness, even if it risks alerting those involved.

  It is evident that this mod exploits certain vulnerabilities in the game, making it an illegitimate tool. I sincerely hope this issue gains the official attention it urgently requires.

If you reported the issue, it likely means Klei is preparing a DMCA takedown request or maybe even a full-blown lawsuit case, since this is a blatant case of copyright infringement. Not to mention actual money is involved if the mod is being sold for real money, so they could sue for damages

[Yangyuqi]

On 11/25/2025 at 1:18 PM, shaurun said:

@Yangyuqi你说的是什么样的脆弱？

如果它不给用户皮肤，我甚至不认为这是盗版，因为他们不能强制在官方公共服务器上安装这种模式。而且如果有人喜欢某些皮肤，如果有钱的话，他们大概还是会买。

我觉得盗版并没有像人们想象的那样引发太多问题。如果你重视产品并且有资金支持它——那很好。但如果没有，你至少可以尝尝，评估它是否让它更糟，等你有钱再付钱。

The vulnerability I'm referring to is the weakness in the skin system that has led to the emergence of these all-in-one skin mods. Although this is only a server-side mod, many people can use it to set up cloud servers. Players joining these cloud servers will then learn about and start using the mod, creating a chain reaction that leads to an increasing number of users.

Additionally, there are many Don't Starve Together players who prefer playing with friends and avoid joining strangers' rooms or public servers—and this group is by no means small. If I were in their position, I would also be very tempted to use such a mod. From a certain perspective, I would no longer need to purchase any skins through official channels. I might think, "Why should I buy skins from Klei's official sources?"

Of course, the all-in-one skin mod itself is inherently unreasonable and illegal. The sellers of these mods even advertise that they keep the mod updated in real-time according to Klei's game updates—this is outright theft of others' labor. While some may believe this issue won't cause significant waves, it is precisely because of this perception that more sellers are brazenly offering such mods, and the number of players using them is rapidly increasing. This is an important reason why I am raising this issue.

Please excuse any awkward phrasing, as I am using AI translation.

On 11/23/2025 at 1:23 AM, ShadowDuelist said:

当然，抱歉我没把这点加到原回复里。

请访问此表格
https://support.klei.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

填写您的信息，并在那里报告您认为他们应知的内容。

The relevant customer service has replied to me and informed me that they will get back to me after some time. Because they require further investigation.Thank you very much for your link.

On 11/25/2025 at 2:18 PM, Edible Coal said:

在私人服务器上免费使用购买的皮肤还是感觉怪怪的，说实话我怀疑KLEI会允许

If Klei truly maintains this attitude, the number of sellers offering this mod will continue to increase, and the same applies to the number of players using it.🤠

On 11/26/2025 at 12:27 AM, luvu2bits said:

虽然原则上......有点像盗版，如果只是服务器端，那就意味着这些玩家不能随便炫耀他们拥有某种稀有的神秘皮肤之类的，或者在公共服务器上。如果你能用客户端的这个功能，问题会大得多。而且他们实际上并不拥有这些皮肤，所以不能在Steam上展示，也不能以交易/出售获利。我猜他们绕过付费给Klei/合作伙伴供应商/社区成员，以便使用皮肤，这很......这就是重点，但......
如果这真的是他们想做的事，归根结底是无害的......这只是PC平台开放性带来的特点。

Is it really completely harmless?🤠

On 11/26/2025 at 3:02 AM, Maxil20 said:

是。。。难道有人只是忽略了这不仅仅是盗版皮肤，而是有人通过付费墙分发该模组并从中获利，这本身就极其卑劣，值得联系开发者???

yes😃

On 11/27/2025 at 1:57 AM, Kaioh said:

如果你举报了这个问题，很可能意味着Klei正在准备提出DMCA下架请求，甚至可能面临全面的诉讼，因为这是一起明显的版权侵权案件。更别说如果模组是真钱出售，涉及实际金钱，他们可能会起诉索赔

There is not just one seller of this mod, which may make it difficult for Klei to pinpoint specific targets. Moreover, most of these sellers are individual merchants operating within the Chinese community. Due to VPN barriers, Klei officials might even be unaware of this issue, leading to its continuous expansion. This is clearly illegal. Klei may possibly be aware of the situation but might not realize that the number of sellers is growing and the user base is rapidly increasing. The potential losses arising from this may have gone unnoticed by them.🤠

[Tigris Nano]

Sounds like non-official cs:go servers where you can use skins without owning them. But for dont starve. And for actual money which is wild.

I assume Klei is already working on this because biggest chunk of players is from China (including mod distributors) so getting rid of stuff that directly affects their main source of profit is probably high on their todo list

Edited November 29, 2025 by Tigris Nano

[Primalflower]

On 11/25/2025 at 6:43 PM, AliceShiki said:

but that's kind of the whole point of distributing pirated stuff.

what? no? pirated stuff is usually free. the market for people who pirate things are people who otherwise cant afford it. you have a strange understanding of this facet of the world

the people who actively pirate things for others to download are usually some of the most progressive people i know

[AliceShiki]

2 hours ago, Primalflower said:

what? no? pirated stuff is usually free. the market for people who pirate things are people who otherwise cant afford it. you have a strange understanding of this facet of the world

the people who actively pirate things for others to download are usually some of the most progressive people i know

The people who pirate are the ones who want stuff for free or for cheap. Those are not the ones I'm talking about.

The people who distribute the pirated stuff are those who want to make a profit on the work of other people. Those are the people I'm talking about.

You're talking about the customer, I'm talking about the distributor. They're different groups of people.

See Crunchyroll for an easy example, a company that made so much money from stealing fantranslations that it was able to actually contact Japanese publishers and get licensing deals and ended up becoming an official English Publisher... They just made so much money from piracy that they became official publishers.

Or just look at any site where you can pirate anime and see the numerous ads in the sites. Or try remembering the times back in PS1 and PS2 days where people sold pirated games left and right to make some money by selling it way cheaper than the original games.

That's the way piracy always works. Either offer pirated stuff for free (with ads) or for cheap to get money from other people's hard work.

Edited November 29, 2025 by AliceShiki

[Yangyuqi]

6 hours ago, Primalflower said:

什么？不？盗版内容通常是免费的。盗版者的市场是那些负担不起的人。你对这个世界的这一面有着奇怪的理解

那些主动盗版供别人下载的人通常是我认识的最进步的人

Speaking specifically about Klei's game Don't Starve Together, excluding some collaboration skins and merchandise-themed skins, over 95% of the skins can be selectively purchased at affordable prices if you like them. The bundles are very cost-effective and quite inexpensive—some packs include a large number of skins for just a few dollars. Additionally, Klei regularly distributes free Klei Points through game updates to spark players' interest and allow them to redeem previous skins. From this perspective, most players can afford these skins.

Of course, from a player's standpoint, having access to all skins for free is undoubtedly more appealing. However, the underlying logic of this is fundamentally unreasonable. Moreover, these mods are built on the exploitation of others' labor and cut off support for Klei's games, which has a negative impact on the sustainable development of the game.

[Bumber64]

18 hours ago, AliceShiki said:

That's the way piracy always works. Either offer pirated stuff for free (with ads) or for cheap to get money from other people's hard work.

No, there's also spite. I'm sure the group that cracked Spore before the game even released did it to spit in EA's face for all their anti-piracy measures.

[Radicaljoe]

On 11/29/2025 at 4:57 PM, AliceShiki said:

The people who distribute the pirated stuff are those who want to make a profit on the work of other people. Those are the people I'm talking about.

Ah, nono, those are maruaders.