Payday 2‘s makers have collaborated with Ethan and Hila Klein of the popular YouTube channel h3h3Productions, producing a DLC character pack featuring the YouTubers with all the proceeds going towards their ongoing legal battle.
h3h3Productions have been locked in a legal battle with fellow YouTuber Matt Hoss after posting a reaction video to his channel Matt Hoss Zone, with the lawsuit alleging that they were guilty of copyright infringement for doing so. Ethan and Hila subsequently discussed the lawsuit with their viewers, claiming that Hoss had requested they settle out of court and also post an apology video, but the couple decided to decline this offer as a result of the problems it would present for YouTube down the road.
While criticism and commentary of original works is covered under Fair Use, as this is only a legal defense a jury without knowledge of YouTube could well rule in Hoss’s favor. Ethan and Hila raised over $150,000 in a GoFundMe campaign earlier this year, though this has still not been enough to cover the cost of the legal battle, so Overkill Software have stepped in with a unique way of raising cash for the YouTubers.
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The announcement of the Ethan and Hila character pack coincides with Overkill’s decision to slash 85% off the price of all Payday 2 DLC excluding the character pack until June 8, at which point the Payday 2 Ultimate Edition will be released containing the DLC and the base game. Announcing the intention behind the character pack, Overkill said: “The subsequent revenue from the Ethan and Hila Character Pack is going straight to Ethan and Hila. We are doing this because we appreciate them and wanted to find a way to help them out financially so they can continue to do what they do best.”
There are no official images of the Ethan and Hila skins at the time of this writing, with Overkill revealing that the pack will cost $4.99 and they’ll receive no profits from it. However, considering that h3h3Productions have a reach on YouTube of nearly 4 million subscribers, we imagine that this will stir up no small amount of publicity for the upcoming Ultimate Edition.
To learn more of Ethan and Hila’s legal battles, watch their video discussing the matter below:
