Our gaming world is full of genuine works of art, the result of the hard work of passionate developers who spend years striving to win the hearts of gamers around the world. But as in any thriving industry, some individuals are not motivated by passion… but by greed.
And it’s almost logical when you consider that the video game industry has become the most lucrative in the world, surpassing even cinema and music. In fact, it has become commonplace to come across dodgy projects on the digital stores of companies such as Nintendo and Sony.
Some of these experiences may seem amusing at first glance, but they mainly deceive less experienced gamers, who don’t immediately spot the deception. Let’s take a look at several instructive cases… and the reasons behind these abuses.
A shocking rip-off of The Last of Us… on Nintendo Switch
This is undoubtedly one of the most emblematic cases in recent years. In 2023, Nintendo’s eShop hosted a shameful imitation of The Last of Us, which was a PlayStation exclusive (at least until it arrived on PC).
The game in question is called The Last Hope: Dead Zone Survival, and shamelessly reuses 3D models from the original title, including that of young Ellie. It is developed by a dubious developer, Virtual Global Games, based in Chiศinฤu, Moldova, which also operates under other names such as West Connection Limited.
The same company has also released copies of other games, such as Mad Max, which became Mad Road, and a low-cost version of Need for Speed called Need for Drive: Car Racing.
Thanks to the buzz generated on social media, Sony was quickly alerted, leading to the game’s removal from the eShop and associated YouTube videos. But this was just one case among many…
A fake Black Myth: Wukong also available on Switch
At the end of 2024, it was Black Myth: Wukong, a title from Chinese studio Game Science, that was the target of counterfeiting.
A certain Wukong Sun: Black Legend appeared on the eShop. The game uses illustrations very similar to those of the original studio to deceive buyers. But once launched, it turns out to be a simple 2D platform game, a far cry from Game Science’s spectacular game.
Worse still, Wukong Sun: Black Legend is still online, with the same misleading visuals.
This is the case of even small studios: the example of No, I’m Not a Human
Even Indie devs are not spared. This is the case with the game No, Iโm Not a Human, developed by Trioskaz and published by Critical Reflex. The title was shamefully copied and misappropriated to appear under the name Iโm Not a Human: Horror Simulator on the PlayStation Store.
This version uses the same concept and even the original title… but with grotesque, poorly executed 3D graphics that are a far cry from the aesthetics of the authentic PC-exclusive game. It is therefore a pure and simple scam, aimed at passing off a fake game as an official console version.
The PS Store, particularly in the horror section, is full of similar examples. Many fake horror games are crudely inspired by existing titles and deceive the public with misleading presentations.
AI, the new tool for scammers
The problem is no longer limited to simple plagiarism. With the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, new abuses are emerging.
A striking example is a fake game trailer called Titanic Escape Simulator, edited entirely using AI tools. The video was just a series of artificially generated images, with no actual gameplay. The real intentions of its creators are still unknown: fake crowdfunding? Dubious buzz? Malicious operation? In any case, the video has been removed…
And as this technology improves, these methods will become more commonplace. We will need to be even more vigilant in the future.
But then… how do these plagiarized games end up in stores?
That’s the question everyone is asking. How can games like this, sometimes with names and visuals inspired by original works, be found with complete impunity on official stores?
The answer is as simple as it is frustrating: the validation procedures are semi-automated and too lax. The checks carried out by Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft focus primarily on technical stability, performance, and the absence of explicit content.
As long as a game does not directly incorporate copyrighted elements (such as official music, a specific logo, etc.), it can slip through the net. This opens the door to an avalanche of opportunistic copies published discreetly.
And even when a game is reported, it can take several weeks to be removed, as platforms often wait for an official complaint from the rights holder. Without a formal report, they almost never take action on their own initiative.
A worrying passivity on the part of platforms
These abuses are symptomatic of a system that has become too open and too fast to be properly controlled. Whereas Nintendo and Sony used to act as guarantors of quality, they are now passive distributors. Their goal is no longer to filter, but to sell.
The result: games like The Last Hope: Dead Zone Survival can exist on a mainstream console, generate a few sales… and then be deleted without a trace, until another clone takes its place.
