A lot of devs who received that dreaded email I talked to, still offer our games on this site for free (around 70% of the devs I asked). In my case, and others', so the players, who aren't the culprits, aren't punished. Other devs to get some promotion or for other reasons.
We can't monetize our work here because of itch policies, so only Patreon, Subscribestar and other minor platforms are left for us to do it (Steam isn't a viable option for a lot of devs). And I'm not talking about getting rich or even working on this for a living. I'm talking about covering the expenses. During 2023, only in Daz assets, I spent 36% of my Patreon and Subscribestar combined (raw) income. Add to that licensed music, taxes, hardware, internet, and professional services. Making a game, if you want to do it legally, is expensive.