Haha... I've given up on those cheapskates that just decide piracy is the way even with Steam discounts or how games have become so accessible and affordable.
It's like me taking a moderate stance on A.I and them saying I am an A.I bro just because I have an A.I avatar.
Some people will do whatever they can to justify their actions that hurt people or gaslight others, like on itch and some of the game jams where vote manipulation happened.
Maybe there is malware in your game or your laptop is secretly mining crypto for them, so if u go to another pirate site, it hurts their profit . This is just me guessing for fun since I am bored and would like to chat.
Also about AAA games by studios, well for a sure fact they have more polish in the visuals and sound, but whether the game story is good, or the boss design is nice, different story. Good example is Suicide Squad.
But I would be more predisposed to buy an AAA game cause of both awareness cause they have a marketing budge and also yeah, the visuals and soundtracks look better. I have played some Indie games here that are casual with potential,but they never released into a full product.