One of the major problems facing gaming today is quality control issues on large, digital platforms. This problem ranges from consoles, on the PlayStation Network for example, to Steam on PC and, perhaps most infamously, mobile platforms. On the Google Play and Apple App Stores, thousands and thousands of developers dump content at low prices in the hopes of striking oil. This outpouring of content does not seem to have an active quality filter, often leading to “clones” or other questionable uses of IP slipping through until perceivable damage has been done by the time the offenders are removed. This week, a particularly popular IP, Cuphead , was fraudulently ported to the Apple App Store, exposing a worst-case scenario in the hours it took for the software to be removed.
Cuphead quietly appeared on the iOS-run store, posted by someone pretending to be actual Cuphead developer Studio MDHR. The app charged five bucks, and it appeared to be someone forcing the game to run on Apple devices quite poorly. Footage on YouTube shows a glitchy title screen choppy animations and shoddy touch controls. It’s pretty blatantly theft. Sure enough, Studio MDHR eventually found out and went about getting the app removed. Unfortunately, any number of curious gamers opted to pay the five bucks, ensuring whoever did it was able to make some cash in the process.
Source: Polygon