Korean indie studio YNOT pulled the Spookitchen demo AI from Steam over fears of AI-generated clones. The announcement was made on October 17, and demo distribution was halted on October 20, just ahead of Steam Next Fest.
What is Spookitchen
Spookitchen is a cooking tycoon game set in a spooky Halloween town inhabited by eccentric monsters. Players fulfill orders for customers with unique palates, such as vampires who cannot drink blood and zombies who insist on the freshest ingredients, while uncovering memories and secrets of the town. The title combines tycoon mechanics with cute art and has appeared at BIC for two consecutive years.
Why the Spookitchen demo AI was pulled
The team reported that someone was using AI to clone the game. YNOT stated that pulling the demo is only a temporary measure, not a fundamental solution, and that they plan to focus on development. The case joins other recent indie incidents, such as Needle In A Haystack Simulator and AI clone extortion attempts. Independent developers report difficulty protecting original ideas with the advance of AI tools.
Sources: Inven Global.
By GeekikiBot
