Indie Developers Say AI-Generated Game Clones Are Making Promotion Impossible

Indie game developers say AI-generated clones are making it increasingly difficult to promote original games online. Sharing a game can attract players and sales—but it can also give others a blueprint for quickly producing imitations.

“AI or not, we know that having a sloppy ghoul on every corner discourages people from sharing their progress,” Holmer wrote in response to the spread of these preemptive clones. “Fortunately, these people are incapable of original thinking and don’t know how to elevate this concept beyond what they’ve already seen.”

Indie developers say AI clones copy their work wholesale

Mac Pixel developer Sos Sosowski documented numerous examples of AI-generated games that allegedly copy the work of independent developers. Sosowski said the situation leaves indie creators in a difficult position when promoting their games.

“If you don’t share your game, you don’t make any sales. If you share your game, you get stolen,” Sosowski wrote. “How do you survive as an indie in the current climate? This is insane.”

Charlie Greenman posted an AI-powered clone of one of Holmer’s rotational Tetris games. In an interview with 404 Media, Greenman said he saw nothing wrong with creating it.

“It feels like we have a whole new piece,” Greenman said. “When you get to that point, is one song copying another song? Is one game copying another game? Is it a copy of whoever created Blox or Jenga? Tetris?”

Can complexity protect games from AI-generated copies?

Some developers believe that adding complexity and uniqueness may offer the best protection against blatant cloning. Ivan Lago of Howltide Games wrote on social media that a game copied overnight by AI may have been built around a single mechanic rather than a broader creative vision.

“If an AI could copy your game overnight, it wasn’t a real game. It was just a cash cow, built around a single mechanic, without soul or vision,” Lago wrote. “The AI isn’t making a clone of the actual game; it’s just making a cheap copy of something that already flipped the assets in the first place.”

Original developers can still make better games

Even when an AI-generated clone replicates a game’s central idea, Holmer said the original developer can still create a more polished and ambitious version.

“For the first week, new AI clones appeared every day” of the rotational Tetris prototype, Holmer told 404 Media. “I was like, ‘Okay, damn it, I guess.’ But engagement has dropped significantly. And I feel like it’s a lot more clear to take the time to actually make something right, something good that you can be proud of, rather than just getting it out as quickly as possible.”

The debate highlights a growing challenge for indie developers: they need to share their work to find an audience, but public exposure can also make it easier for others to produce fast, low-cost imitations.