Picture this: you’ve spent late nights coding, drawing pixel art until your wrist cramps, and balancing your game’s difficulty until it finally feels right.
You hit “publish” on itch.io, celebrate with pizza, and bask in the glow of being a Real Game Developer™.
Then, a week later, someone sends you a link: your game is on Steam… except you didn’t put it there. Same mechanics, same art, different name. And someone else is pocketing the sales.
Welcome to the wild west of stolen indie games and video game cloning. As an indie dev myself, I’ve seen this nightmare happen to friends, read the horror stories on Reddit, and worried about it every time I hit “upload.”
Let’s break down what’s happening, why it’s growing, and what you can actually do if it happens to you.
Key Takeaways
- Stolen indie games and game cloning are increasingly common, especially moving from itch.io to Steam.
- Developers risk losing revenue, reputation, and motivation when clones appear.
- Protect your work with proof of ownership, obfuscation, and DMCA tools.
- Platforms are slow to react, so indie devs must lean on community support and awareness.
What Does “Stolen Indie Game” Really Mean?
Cloning vs. Straight Theft
Sometimes thieves grab your game wholesale, zip file, assets, everything, and just plop it on Steam or a mobile store. Other times, they re-skin it, change a name or two, maybe swap the color palette, and voilà: a “new” game. That’s video game plagiarism in action.
Platforms Where This Happens Most
- itch.io to Steam: Probably the most common pipeline right now.
- Mobile app stores: Apple and Google Play both have histories of clones and asset flips sneaking in.
- Shady aggregator sites: Even crypto-themed sites have copied itch.io’s design and hosted stolen titles.
Real Examples of Indie Games Being Stolen
From itch.io to Steam
One dev’s card-battler, Dire Decks, was lifted and re-released on Steam under the name Wildcard. The thief didn’t even bother to hide the similarities. That’s Steam stolen indie games at its worst.
Hijacked Accounts
I’ve seen itch.io threads where someone’s account got hijacked and filled with adult shovelware they never created. Imagine logging in to find your name attached to a game you’d never let your mom see.
Web3 / Scam Platforms
Some crypto sites have literally cloned itch.io’s interface and pulled games over without permission. It’s the equivalent of someone making a knockoff Walmart and stocking it with stolen goods.
Stories from Fellow Devs
On Reddit, one dev shared that their video game was stolen, renamed, and sold on the App Store, essentially wrapped in a webview.
Others on Twitter/X have caught clones of their browser games popping up with new titles. The common theme? It keeps happening, and the thieves rarely get punished fast enough.
Why Is This Happening More Often?
Low Barriers to Entry on Platforms
Steam’s Direct program makes publishing cheap and relatively easy, great for us honest indies, but equally great for bad actors.
Shovelware Culture
If you’ve browsed the Steam “New Releases” page lately, you know what I mean: endless low-quality asset flips and cloned games. The goal isn’t to build something memorable; it’s to churn out as many cheap products as possible.
Visibility and Moderation Weaknesses
Steam relies on reports, not preemptive checks. If you don’t catch it, it could sit there for weeks.
Easy-to-Steal Digital Assets
Games are digital files. Unless you build in protection, anyone can download, rip, and republish them.
The Impact on Indie Developers
Lost Revenue and Recognition
Every stolen sale is money you don’t earn, and as beginners, even $50 can mean covering software costs or groceries.
Brand Confusion
Players may not know which game is the original. Worse, they might buy the knockoff, have a bad experience, and leave your real game a negative review.
Emotional and Community Fallout
Honestly? It’s crushing.
I’ve had friends admit they almost quit making games after seeing their game stolen. When you’re already fighting imposter syndrome, having your game cloned feels like the universe confirming your worst fears.
What You Can Do If Your Game Is Stolen
Immediate Steps
- File a DMCA takedown with the platform (Steam, itch.io, Apple, Google).
- Reach out to the storefront’s support team directly.
Protecting Assets Before Release
- Don’t upload raw asset files if you don’t have to.
- Obfuscate or encrypt code when possible.
- Keep unfinished builds private.
Building Proof of Ownership
- Keep a dev log, commit history, screenshots, drafts, as your paper trail.
- Archive prototypes and major milestones so dates and authorship are clear.
Leaning on the Community
- Use indie dev Twitter/X, Reddit, and Discords to share your story and rally support.
- Encourage players to wishlist and review the original; visibility matters.
How Platforms Are Responding (and Falling Short)
Steam’s Moderation Struggles
Valve removes stolen indie games when flagged, but it’s often slow. Meanwhile, the thief might pocket sales.
itch.io’s Role
Itch.io is beloved by indies but doesn’t have the same resources as larger platforms. They rely heavily on reports and manual intervention.
Broader Industry Pressure
The indie community is calling for better verification tools, automated plagiarism detection, stricter account checks, and faster takedown systems.
Shovelware, Clones, and the Indie Market
The Flood of Low-Quality Games
Shovelware and stolen games clutter the market, burying quality indies in noise. Steam is particularly infamous for this.
Lessons from Other Creative Fields
It’s the same fight musicians, artists, and writers face with piracy and plagiarism. Once something is digital, protecting it is an uphill battle.
Why This Matters for Indie Development
If platforms don’t address this problem, it could discourage new devs and poison player trust in indie games overall.
FAQ: Stolen Indie Games
How do I report a stolen game on Steam?
Head to the game’s Steam store page, scroll to the bottom, and use the “Report this product” button. Choose copyright infringement as the reason.
You’ll also want to file a DMCA takedown through Valve’s web form. Include screenshots, development logs, and your original itch.io or Steam page to prove ownership.
Can stolen indie games really make money on Steam?
Unfortunately, yes. Even if a clone only sells a handful of copies before getting taken down, that’s money the thief pockets — and recognition you lose. Some shovelware publishers crank out dozens of these at once, hoping to slip under the radar.
What’s the difference between shovelware and a stolen game?
Shovelware usually means low-effort games, asset flips, reskins, things made to flood the store rather than impress players. A stolen game is your actual project taken without permission, either re-uploaded as-is or with minor tweaks.
Sometimes the two overlap, which makes it even more frustrating.
How can I protect my indie game from theft?
You can’t 100% stop it, but you can make life harder for thieves. Use code obfuscation, keep dev logs as proof, and only upload the minimum files needed.
Most importantly: document your development process. Screenshots of prototypes, commits in Git, or devlogs on social platforms can double as proof of authorship.
Does this happen outside of Steam and itch.io?
Absolutely. Mobile app stores are notorious for clones, especially if your game starts trending. Browser games and even console storefronts have seen it too. Anywhere there’s money and a low barrier to entry, you’ll find someone trying to cut corners.
Where to Go From Here
As indie devs, we already juggle coding, art, marketing, and community-building. Fighting indie game theft wasn’t supposed to be part of the job description — yet here we are.
We can’t lock down the internet, but we can protect ourselves with smart practices, share stories when theft happens, and support one another. The thieves may be fast, but the indie community is scrappy, passionate, and tougher than they expect.
And hey, maybe someday we’ll look back and laugh: “Remember when Steam was the Wild West of cloned games?” Until then, keep building, keep sharing, and don’t let the shovelware crowd steal your spark.
Primary Sources Cited
- Notebookcheck – Series of Steam games stolen from indie developers highlights Valve’s moderation struggles
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Series-of-Steam-games-stolen-from-indie-developers-highlights-Valve-s-moderation-struggles.1046760.0.html - Gamerant – Steam Spam Problem: Itch.io Stolen Games & Shovelware
https://gamerant.com/steam-spam-problem-itch-io-stolen-games-shovelware/ - TechRaptor – Indie Dev’s Game Cloned on Steam (Dire Decks → Wildcard)
https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/indie-dev-game-cloned-dire-decks - Web3 Is Going Great – Crypto Games Site W3itch.io Blatantly Copies Itch.io, Hosts Stolen Games
https://www.web3isgoinggreat.com/ - Itch.io Community Thread – Again, someone has stolen my account and published adult games
https://itch.io/t/3167619/againsomeone-has-stolen-my-account-and-published-adult-games - Itch.io Community Thread – My game got stolen and it appears as the first result on Google Search
https://itch.io/t/4077998/my-game-got-stolen-and-it-appears-as-the-first-result-on-google-search-how-can-i-stop-this-from-happening - 80.lv – Scam Publisher Stole The Backrooms 1998 & Sold Under Another Name
https://80.lv/articles/scam-publisher-stole-the-backrooms-1998-sold-under-another-name/
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