Publisher Curve Games and developer Denki have announced that they are giving 10,000 free copies of their latest title Autonauts vs PirateBots to American Schools. The 10,000 free copies will be given out to all American Schools on a first-come, first-serve basis. The free games are being given as part of the Autonauts Codes for Education (ACE) Initiative. The title Autonauts vs PirateBots has proven to educate players on the fundamentals of programming which is why the publisher and developer will be offering thousands of titles for free to all American schools.
There is no restriction on what type of school can apply for this campaign as long as it is based inside America. Teachers, tutors, and administrators from any U.S. school, university, or any other educational program can apply and claim 30 free Steam copies of Autonauts vs PirateBots on PC for their institution. The only requirements for this are to provide their professional email and photo ID for verification. If you want to apply for your share of free copies, you can use this form to apply for your institution.
Denki is a Dundee, Scotland-based developer who is behind Autonauts vs PirateBots. Autonauts vs PirateBots is a sequel to the original title Autonauts, and the studio’s Internal Development Manager Gary Penn is an industry veteran who has worked previously on titles such as Grand Theft Auto as a Creative Director while working at DMA Design, the studio behind Lemmings. He commented:
Autonauts vs PirateBots is a game for everyone, but it also doubles up as an amazing learning tool. Teachers throughout the UK have contacted Denki to let us know that they are using the original Autonauts to teach students the logic behind coding, especially as it encourages creativity and discussion with other players. It may look simple on the surface but there are tons of programming challenges disguised beneath this infectious sim. We are excited to now bring this opportunity to schools, colleges, and universities across the United States.
This is not the first time that a video game has been used to teach students various things. Before Autonauts vs PirateBots, the original Autonauts was also used for teaching students in the UK, and before that, the Nintendo DS title Dr. Kawashimi’s Brain Training was used to improve mental arithmetic. Additional titles like Minecraft and Roblox have been used to teach chemistry, computer-aided design, math, and computer science and now Autonauts vs PirateBots is joining the list of educational video games as well.
Autonauts vs PirateBots is currently available on PC via Steam and in this game, players must build, create, and automate to establish colonies, crafting bots and programming them to build an ever-evolving autonomous paradise of agriculture, industry, and enlightenment. Using the same art style of the original game, Autonauts vs PirateBots also incorporates the pace of an RTS with players tasked to defend their impenetrable base using a Bot army to fight and repel invading pirate enemies.
Anyone who wished to get Autonauts vs PirateBots will need to spend $19.99 for a single copy of the game and anyone who does not work for an education body and uses the form above for an educational copy of the game will need to pay the amount as well. The campaign is only available to functional educational institutions and that too only those who are based inside the USA.
