It's only their game so far as ownership and cash flow goes. When you make something and other people truly love it, it becomes theirs as well (not physically or legally) to not let people have that connection no matter how real or fake it is will only become a negative in the long run. Edit: the money you make at your job isn't actually real. It's paper the government prints and tell us it has value. The government owns this paper. Therefore if they took all your money and all your gear in real life I hope to God you smile and say "it's theirs they can do whatever they want."