if you can run a private server, you can get rid of all ‘phone home’ requirements.
so you just need a cracked copy of the game itself. luckily it is completely legal to remove digital locks on anything you bought in many countries (not the usa though).
age verification is just a BS strawman. do you remember when we where young? we would access stuff and find ways to buy stuff. but whenever there was a reasonable but fair gap, it would be much harder to get whatever we wanted: buying weed was so much easier, than buying alcohol (without the appropriate age).
pirating is easy (even i figured it out before having enough money to buy movies & games). so the kids will just pirate that stuff and get their way anyway. age verification at the store makes so much more sense. sure, there are ways to circumvent those. but it is a reasonable stop block.
exactly what i am talking about. age restriction at the physical store kept you away for a while, while not forcing an alternative/underground market. however, if you knew the only way to get it is on an alternative store - you would immediately have looked there.