After indie game Anodyne was posted on The Pirate Bay, one of the indie game's developers - Sean Hogan - posted on the comments section asking those who enjoyed the game to help it through Steam's Greenlight process.
The dev also engaged in a discussion on Reddit, where he explained his position in more detail: "Yeah, piracy is inevitable so it's better to embrace it - plus, it gives lots of people who couldn't normally afford the game the opportunity to play it - and I think when you're a small group of developers (only my friend Jon and I made Anodyne), it's better to have lots of people able to experience your game."
"We hope enough people will like it and the word will get out, eventually allowing us to get onto Steam, which then lets more people see and play Anodyne!"
It's a pragmatic approach to a longstanding issue, and it's not the first time that a dev has proactively engaged with pirates in order to help publicise a game. Hotline Miami co-developer Jonatan Söderström did much the same thing, even going as far as offering help and advice to those who had illegally obtained the game.