Poppy Playtime Creator Sues Google Over Fraudulent Apps Exploiting Users

Mob Entertainment, the creator behind the popular horror game Poppy Playtime, has filed a lawsuit against Google for failing to remove fraudulent apps from its Play Store. These deceptive apps, created by a developer named Daigo Game 2020, bear titles such as "Poppy Playtime Chapter 4" and "Poppy Playtime: Chapter 3" and are still available for download despite the company's complaints. The apps, which have been downloaded over 1.1 million times, are free to download, but users are prompted to pay between $30 and $95 to access what they believe is content related to the game. Instead, users are met with nothing more than a link to a dead webpage.

As reported by Polygon and TorrentFreak, Mob Entertainment claims that despite successfully having the fraudulent apps removed through inquiries and a DMCA request, Google later reinstated them. The company is now seeking $150,000 in damages for each app and insists that the apps be permanently taken down.

As reported by PC Gamer, these apps are part of a growing issue in which fake games imitate popular titles to exploit unsuspecting users, often targeting younger and less experienced players. Mob Entertainment's Poppy Playtime has amassed over 40 million players across platforms, and the studio is determined to protect its brand from such scams. The lawsuit highlights the challenge of policing the Play Store and questions how a company of Google's size can allow such fraudulent activity to persist.