Brazen clone of "Animal Crossing" or AI-generated fraud?
At first glance, a game that has appeared in the Playstation Store looks like a clone of "Animal Crossing". At second glance, there are strong indications of a fraudster flooding the game stores with low-quality games.
In the gaming industry, it's all about being inspired by good ideas and creating interesting new games from them. However, there are also black sheep who simply copy the successful concept of other games without incorporating their own ideas and hope to make money from it.
One such game clone has now appeared again in the Playstation Store. The YouTube collective Good Vibes Gaming reported on it. "Anime Life Sim" looks exactly like Nintendo's successful "Animal Crossing" and is said to offer the same gameplay. According to the store page, the game is due to be released in February 2026. However, a few details raise doubts as to whether it is a real game at all.
Source: Nintendo
Just brazenly stolen or simply AI-generated?
The new game is the subject of lively discussion on Reddit. Many users confirm that it looks very similar to "Animal Crossing: New Horizons".
On one of the screenshots, however, users discovered indications that these are merely AI-generated images. This means that the screenshots were not taken in-game or created by artists for the game, but generated by an AI. This suggests that there is no game (yet). AI images often look very good and coherent at first glance, but on closer inspection, details are incorrect or don't make sense.
In the following screenshot, you can see unnaturally placed curtains and tables in the background. Some details, for example on the cooker or the flower shelf on the right, are deformed or incomplete.
Source: Maksym Vysochanskyy trading as IndieGames3000
This further screenshot shows some objects whose appearance and placement do not make sense at second glance. For example, the low desk in front of the shelf in the far right corner or the filing cabinet on the right.
Source: Maksym Vysochanskyy trading as IndieGames3000
Only AI-generated or simply a scam?
Another indication that something is wrong here is the publisher "Maksym Vysochanskyy trading as IndieGames3000". In the least problematic case, this indicates an individual with a questionable penchant for unusual naming.
In fact, the website nintendolife.com lists the other adventurous games this supplier has already released, including a clone of "Monster Hunter". Here you can find an overview of the publisher's games that are available for the Playstation. Apparently, some of these games also appeared for the Switch, albeit under a different publisher - another red flag.
The quantity and type of games from this supplier suggest that, if anything, they are poor quality games that have been created with the least possible effort. Developers are provided with assets, i.e. ready-made models and in-game objects. With the help of an AI, a bad game can be generated quickly.
A particularly explosive fact: the name "Maksym Vysochanskyy" corresponds to the name of a criminal convicted in the USA. He was sentenced to 35 months in prison for software piracy in 2006. He had sold stolen programmes from Microsoft, Adobe and other companies. It is not known whether it is actually the same person or whether the developer is merely alluding to the convicted pirate with the name.
If "Animal Life Sim" is actually released and sold, the publisher could receive mail from Nintendo's very litigious lawyers - and rightly so. The case of "Palworld", for example, was very well known last year: This game presents gameplay that was partly taken almost one-to-one from Nintendo's "Pokémon" series. Nintendo sued the "Palworld" studio for this without further ado.
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.