It seems to me that we have a hostage crisis here. the current patrons wants to retain the power to decide on the future look and direction in which the game develops. It is known that the author conducts a survey in which, depending on the invested money, you as a patron decide between options, which part of the story will develop, which fetishes will be shown, and the like. So old patrons protect their decision-making power behind a paywall. The author is caught in a trap because he doesn't get new patrons, and the old ones don't care about that, but rather want to maintain their influence by preventing the arrival of new ones. Of course, they tell the author a story about justice and protection of his copyrights.... more money in the game... and that the leaks hurt him the most, although the opposite is probably the case.