New Switch 2 Indie Game Draws Attention as ‘AI-Generated’ Knockoff Also Surfaces in Searches

Nintendo has just concluded its latest Indie World showcase, and, as is frequently the case with such presentations, several of the featured games received demos launching immediately afterward. One of these titles is Haunted Paws, a canine co-op game following two dogs as they venture into a haunted house in search of their owner. I am fond of dogs, and Haunted Paws lets you play as different breeds, so I wanted to download the demo and check whether you could play as a yorkie like my late pup, who passed away a few years ago (you cannot, unfortunately). But when I searched for the game on the eShop, I did not find Haunted Paws; instead, I came across something that looked similar, yet different.

The game that appeared in my search results was one called Ghostly Whiskers, and for a moment I wondered whether I had somehow misremembered the title of the game I was searching for when I typed it in. Once I clicked through, however, I realized Ghostly Whiskers was not a dog co-op game; instead, it starred two cats seemingly on a very similar mission to find their owner in a haunted house. While Haunted Paws is not due out until May of next year, this game had launched back in September. In the time since I began writing this piece, Haunted Paws and its demo have appeared on the eShop, but Ghostly Whiskers is also listed on the store page. The phrase “haunted paws” does not appear in Ghostly Whiskers‘ description, yet it still comes up in search results.

It was then that I discovered the existence of Ghostly Whiskers had stirred up a bit of controversy back in January. Developer Lazy Flock spoke out about Ghostly Whiskers at that time, calling it “an unauthorized copy that steals our concept, visuals, and story, using AI-generated assets.” Ghostly Whiskers is published by Nostra Games, which, as GamesRadar notes in its story on the matter, has released several copycat games that lift from the likes of Fallout Shelter, Two Point Hospital, and Crossy Road, among others.

Obviously the cat’s out of the bag at this point, but it was really surprising to find that when you search for Haunted Paws on the eShop, a clone that’s already out and can be bought at full price shows up. If you go looking for Haunted Paws yourself and see a suspiciously similar-looking game that’s out right now, remember: the game you saw in the showcase isn’t available yet.