AI-generated clones of the hit climbing game Peak are flooding digital storefronts, with scammers using artificial intelligence tools to quickly create cheap knockoffs of the viral co-op title. The phenomenon highlights how AI is accelerating the longstanding problem of game cloning, making it easier than ever for bad actors to exploit successful indie games without any coding knowledge.
What you should know: Peak has become a massive success story, selling over 8 million copies after reaching 1 million in its first week and currently ranking in Steam’s top five bestsellers.
- Created by Aggro Crab and Landfall during a game jam, the slapstick mountain-climbing game has become this summer’s breakout co-op hit.
- The game’s popularity has made it a prime target for AI-generated clones appearing on PlayStation Store and Roblox, despite Peak only being available on PC.
- Aggro Crab cofounder Nick Kamen says the company “hates to see” these AI-made ripoffs proliferating across platforms.
How AI is changing the cloning game: Traditional game cloning required at least some development skills, but AI tools have lowered the barrier to entry significantly.
- Sites like Rosebud AI, Ludo AI, and Seele AI allow users to create games simply by feeding text prompts or photos into the system.
- “It’s one thing to handmake a copycat game,” Kamen tells WIRED, “it’s another thing to just use AI to get it out as fast as possible and as lazy as possible.”
- YouTubers now share tutorial videos on how to create games or rip off existing titles using these AI platforms.
The broader impact on indie developers: Game clones don’t just threaten individual titles—they’re creating systemic problems for the entire indie gaming ecosystem.
- Wren Brier, creative director of Unpacking, says Witch Beam has reported over 80 clones since the game’s 2021 release, describing the process as “whack-a-mole.”
- “Flooding a storefront with garbage that no one wants to play makes it impossible for players to organically discover indie games,” Brier explains.
- Many AI clones are essentially scams featuring “AI-generated marketing images attached to a completely unrelated hastily-slapped together barebones skeleton of a game.”
Legal challenges remain complex: Copyright law provides limited protection against game clones, regardless of whether they’re AI-generated or handmade.
- Intellectual property attorney Kirk Sigmon notes that copyright protection doesn’t extend to genres, aesthetics, or gameplay mechanics.
- “AI definitely makes slop generation faster, but the issue has been around for well over two decades,” Sigmon says.
- Paradoxically, AI-generated clones might be better protected from copyright lawsuits since they create unique assets rather than directly copying existing ones.
What developers are doing: Without strong legal recourse, studios are turning to public pressure and platform reporting to combat clones.
- Aggro Crab posted on X that it would “rather users pirate our game than play this microtransaction-riddled Roblox slop ripoff.”
- The company is focusing on being “outspoken in their distaste” rather than pursuing litigation.
- Sigmon suggests that social pressure and enlisting fans may be developers’ best defense, noting that most gamers aren’t “a fan of half-hearted slop games.”
What they’re saying: Industry figures emphasize the human element that AI-generated content lacks.
- “I consume media because it’s made by humans,” Kamen explains. “I want to experience a piece of art, whatever it may be, another human has made and get their perspective and their outlook on the world.”
- “If AI is used to make the game, then you’re removing that from the equation. There’s no value in it.”
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