Moonlighter studio won't host a public playtest of its next game due to rampant AI-led cloning: 'We know we're not the only developers feeling this way'

Digital Sun Games, the studio behind the Moonlighter series, announced it will not host a public playtest for its upcoming roguelike, ReVamp, due to concerns over rapid cloning. The decision follows a surge in AI-assisted game clones appearing on platforms like Steam, Roblox, and mobile app stores after the release of Claude Opus 5.5. Marketing manager Israel Mallén stated that sharing an early build with thousands of players posed too great a risk of reverse-engineering and unauthorized publication.

The studio explicitly cited recent instances where games were cloned and released before their original versions launched, making a large public build of ReVamp untenable. Digital Sun Games emphasized that the issue is not isolated, noting that other developers share similar concerns. The announcement reflects growing unease within the industry about the ease of creating and distributing AI-generated clones.

The decision mirrors actions taken by other studios, such as the cancellation of a Steam Next Fest demo for Drunken Goddess Reflux due to fears of AI-assisted replication. A spokesperson for that studio warned that demo content could be used to quickly imitate or replicate the game's presentation and gameplay before launch, highlighting the broader industry impact.

The disruption caused by Opus 5.5 has accelerated the proliferation of clones, with Steam Next Fest now featuring over 8,000 demos compared to around 4,000 in June. Examples include the rapid appearance of at least seven Roblox clones and one Steam clone of Escape the Walls within ten days of its footage being published on X.