God bless those developers who expend hundreds of hours of time and effort on an app or game, only to give it away to their fellow gamers. And the devil take those who would exploit that generosity to gain a quick buck. Such is the case with Counter-Strike Portable, a re-created version of the first person shooter classic made for Android by a team of XDA developers. Yesterday they noted that their free game had been magically posted to the Android Market for all to download. And pay for. To someone else. Naturally, they felt a little betrayed.

Developers Pavel M’s and FrIuNs spent most of today trying to get in contact with Google and kick the offending app out of the Market. At the time of writing, the bogus game is gone, presumably thanks to Google’s intervention. The pirate was asking $9.99 for the privilege of playing a free game. The developers reported the offense on their Facebook page, asking supporters to report the app in the Android Market, which almost certainly had an effect on Google’s response.

In the original and still active XDA thread, the legitimate devs ask for donations to help them devote time to the project. I’m sure more than a few die-hard Counter-Strike fans have thrown $10 or more their way, as they should. As great as it is that the situation was resolved relatively quickly, one can’t help but wonder how often this happens without anyone knowing, or with developers who lack the notoriety to generate thousands of flags in the Market quickly enough.

Android Community would like to take this opportunity to remind you that if you pirate applications, it’s because you suck. If you want to play the Counter-Strike Android port you can download it here, and if you enjoy it, throw a few bucks towards the hard-working and generous developers.

[via Droid Gamers]