Fearing AI clones, indie publisher cancels public demo of 'Drunken Goddess Reflux'
First seen on X 44 hours ago@Pirat_Nation ♥ 15,9533 views
Publisher Alliance Arts canceled the public demo of its upcoming game Drunken Goddess Reflux, saying AI-made copycats could beat it to market.
According to Dexerto, the demo planned for Steam on Oct. 19 will be replaced with closed online sessions for a limited number of players. "We're concerned that the demo's content could be used to quickly imitate or replicate the game's presentation and gameplay with AI or other tools, and that such works could be released before our launch," the company said. It had planned restrictions on sharing footage but concluded its team could not enforce them.
Players apply through Discord and must agree to rules banning the use of AI to analyze or copy the game, a drinking-themed survival game built around Russian roulette with a demon.
A post about the cancellation drew 16,000 likes on X. In Japan, a near-identical copy of a viral wall-punching escape game reportedly appeared on Roblox the day after it was announced. Others argued that canceling a demo probably hurts a small game more than any copycat would.
“A developer canceled a planned public demo over worries that AI could copy the game and release a clone first.”
