Apple and Google’s process for getting mobile clones removed is “slow” and “frustrating”, says A Little to the Left developer Max Inferno.
The indie studio says it has complained to the platforms many times in the last two years after a slew of copycat games launched on mobile stores. It has now officially launched its hit tidying game on iOS as a ‘free-to-start’ game through publisher Secret Mode, with an Android version incoming at a later date.
But Max Inferno codirector Lukas Steinman tells us the platforms have been slow to act in fixing the cloning problem.
“We’ve had a terrible time with copycats in the mobile stores, with new listings popping up every week,” says Steinman. “We’ve had to make many dozens of claims to the platforms regarding copycat apps, and while the process can be slow and at times frustrating, the platforms do eventually take action.”
“The hardest situations are where the developer of the copycat app presents themselves as amenable but doesn’t actually have intention to resolve the issue, only delay resolution and buy time to gain more ad revenue before their app listing is removed,” he continues.
“Or they have to change their presence to something that doesn’t impersonate A Little to the Left and cut off their main discovery avenue. These situations are quite difficult, as the platforms are hesitant to step in, and it can take quite a lot of resources to manage.”
Hit tidying game A Little to the Left arrived on Steam two years ago. Developer Max Inferno and publisher Secret Mode had also discussed a release through Apple Arcade and Netflix, but “those avenues didn’t pan out,” says Steinman.
The game’s iOS launch as a ‘free to start’ game means A Little to the Left has now come full circle – it was originally prototyped as a touchscreen game running on a tablet.
“One of our core game design principals is that object interactions should feel tactile, and touch is a great control method to achieve this,” says Steinman. “There’s no doubt that the format of A Little to the Left fits well within mobile gaming conventions.”
Steinman says that marketing a game like this is very different on mobile compared to Steam, and that “the bulk of the audience is not in the same places as those who are already engaging with premium-style games”.
“They’re more likely to find ads for the game while engaging with other online activities, such as watching videos on YouTube or shopping,” he adds.
“Some existing players will decide to pick up the title again, but we do think this release is largely aimed at a new audience. A Little to the Left has been hugely popular on social media, especially TikTok, and so there’s quite a bit of brand recognition and existing interest in the game.”
