I think it's honestly a personal thing.

I 100% think it's stealing. Like you said, the pirate is gaining something as a result of the hard work and thousands of dollars put in by the devs without paying the price the devs asked for that experience.

You don't feel like playing the price the devs asked so you decided you'll just obtain the game and experience it anyway? That just isn't right in my opinion.

Imo, it's like sneaking in to a move theater. Did you "steal" the movie? No, obviously not. But in a way you "stole" the movie tickets by going in without paying for them.

Same thing with games. You aren't "stealing" the game but you "stole" the license to play it by experiencing it without paying for it.

Again, I really do think it's a personal thing but I just don't want us to diminish the fact that pirating is wrong. The closest word to what it is is stealing. Maybe in the future someone will make a new word that's more accurate- but pirates are sneaking into the theater without paying for their tickets, and right now the closest word to describe that for me is stealing.