Autonauts vs PirateBots given free to UK schools, colleges and universities

Curve Games and Denki have pledged to offer 5000 free copies of their upcoming title Autonauts vs PirateBots to educational bodies across the UK. The games will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis as part of the Autonauts Codes for Education (ACE) initiative. Autonauts vs PirateBots launches next week and aims to educate players on programming fundamentals.

Teachers, tutors, and lecturers will be able to claim 30 free Steam copies of the game on PC for their institution by providing their professional email and photo ID via this form available here.

Denki’s Creative Director, Gary Penn had this to say about the initiative:

Autonauts vs PirateBots is a game for everyone, but it also doubles up as a learning tool. Teachers 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, which is why we’ve decided to gift 5000 copies to schools, colleges and universities across the UK.

Also endorsing the campaign is Chris van der Kuyl, a visiting professor of digital entertainment at the University of Abertay Dundee. He had this to say:

Video games are a great way to entertain ourselves, have fun together, and to relax – this is all the more reason why their intersection with education is something that needs to be taken seriously.

Autonauts vs PirateBots launches via Steam on Thursday, July 28, 2022, and is the follow-up to the multi-award-winning title Autonauts. Players must build, create, and automate to establish a thriving settlement, crafting bots and programming them to construct an ever-evolving autonomous paradise of agriculture, industry, and enlightenment.

The game costs £15.99 / $19.99 for anyone that does not work for an educational body.