The Copycat Shame List

MacObserver reported (Apr 20, 2026), citing security researcher Alex Kleber, that a network of four near-identical Mac App Store 'AI chatbot' wrapper apps registered to individual developers Hira Amin, Hadiqa Bashir, Amna Malik and Hamza Javed mimicked ChatGPT, displayed a 'GPT-5.4' model selector while reportedly routing every query to the cheapest gpt-5-nano model, and used a 'Continue to Free' button that triggered a payment demand. 'AI Chatbot・Ask AI Anything' by developer Hira Amin - one of the four named listings - remains live on the Mac App Store. Source: https://www.macobserver.com/news/fake-developers-are-running-a-chatgpt-scam-on-the-mac-app-store/

404 Media (July 14, 2026) and Kotaku (July 15, 2026) reported that after indie developer Freya Holmér posted a viral clip of her unreleased falling-block game where the board rotates instead of the pieces, multiple AI-'vibe-coded' clones appeared within days, including one named 'Rotris' made in about a day, with further clones reaching mobile app stores; Holmér said the episode makes devs afraid to share work in progress. An app titled 'ROTRIS' implementing exactly this rotate-the-world falling-block concept is live on Google Play. Sources: https://www.404media.co/ai-made-cloning-games-easier-than-ever/ (2026-07-14) https://kotaku.com/people-are-using-ai-to-quickly-clone-games-before-the-indie-devs-can-release-them-2000716336 (2026-07-15)

Automaton West reported on June 4, 2026 that Glass Gecko Games' viral fishing game Scale the Depths (Steam-only, no official mobile version) was hit by mobile rip-offs that lifted its code and assets wholesale and added ads and microtransactions; per the developers, a takedown succeeded on Google Play but the App Store copy could not be removed after the bootleggers ran the assets through AI filters. An app using the game's exact title, 'Scale the Depths' by HK Adma Tech Limited (published April 2025, matching the article's account of a rip-off from an unrelated company appearing in early 2025), remains live on the App Store. Source: https://automaton-media.com/en/news/the-developers-of-a-viral-fishing-game-faced-countless-ai-slop-mobile-clones-but-the-rip-offs-were-so-bad-they-ended-up-promoting-the-real-game/ (published 2026-06-04)

In January 2022, PUBG maker Krafton filed a lawsuit in a US federal court alleging that Garena's Free Fire and Free Fire Max 'extensively copy numerous aspects of Battlegrounds', including the air-drop opening, game structure, weapon and armor combinations and overall look; Krafton also sued Apple and Google for distributing the games. Garena responded that Krafton's claims were groundless; this entry reflects the allegations as reported, not any court finding. Source: https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/13/pubg-mobile-maker-krafton-sues-apple-google-and-rival-game-developer-garena-over-clones/

Super Sus reproduces Innersloth's Among Us formula down to the space setting, colour-coded crewmates and impostor premise, and Pocket Gamer described it as 'a really big aping of the original Among Us' while asking whether it was a new spin or 'straight up aping another big game'. The game adds 3D graphics and extra roles but its debt to Among Us is the centre of its press coverage. Source: https://www.pocketgamer.com/super-sus/out-now/

Similar copy they use the functionality