The developer of the popular indie horror game brand Poppy Playtime Mob Entertainment has filed a civil lawsuit against Google for copyright infringement.
The developer of the popular indie horror game brand Poppy Playtime Mob Entertainment has filed a civil lawsuit against Google for copyright infringement.
Poppy Playtime is a first-person survival horror game. The story follows a former employee who visits an abandoned toy factory 10 years after his colleagues went missing. The protagonist navigates the area and solves various puzzles.
At some point, the character enters the main hall of the factory, where he meets Hagi Wagi, a large blue humanoid creature, the company’s mascot, who is displayed in the center of the hall. After trying to open the door, the electricity suddenly goes out, forcing the player to restore power to the power room. Returning to the main hall, the player sees that Hagi Wagi has disappeared from his place. This is how we first meet the monster, which has become an idol for children today.
In the lawsuit, the creator of Poppy Playtime accuses Google and another developer of creating counterfeit Poppy Playtime games under the alias Daigo Game 2020. The document, referenced by Polygon, contains claims of copyright infringement, trademark dilution, and unfair competition. The plaintiff is seeking a total of at least $375,000.
The fourth installment of the Poppy Playtime game, the first of which was published in 2021, was supposed to be released on January 30.
In the lawsuit, Mob Entertainment claimed that at least two unauthorized games called Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 and Poppy Playtime Chapter 4 have appeared on the Google Play store. According to the plaintiff, they not only use the name Poppy Playtime, but also screenshots from the horror film: Chapter 2.
According to the Google Store, these allegedly fraudulent games have been downloaded more than 1 million times. Both games are free to install, but then the player is prompted to pay between $30 and $95 and download a mod to access the game. After paying for the game, «all [players] get is a link to a dead web page,» the company wrote. The lawsuit alleges that the programs are used to «deceive consumers into spending $95 on a game before it’s released.»
Mob Entertainment said it had taken down the DMCA on both copyright-infringing sections and contacted Google about the matter. Google removed the content in December 2024. But a few days later, the fraudulent games returned to the Google Play store.
