AI-assisted imitation pushes indie studios to keep game demos private

AI coding tools are making it faster to imitate games, prompting some independent developers to limit access to early demos and prototypes. Alliance Arts delayed the public demo of its game Drunken Goddess Reflex, concerned that others could copy its gameplay and presentation and release a clone before the original.

The studio plans to show the demo only in closed sessions with restrictions on posting and streaming. Other developers describe similar worries: Freya Holmér’s prototype of a rotating Tetris-style game was quickly copied, while Papers, Please creator Lucas Pope has said he feels less comfortable discussing work in progress. Developers disagree over what counts as copying, and some argue that distinctive, fully developed games are harder to imitate than concepts built around a single mechanic.