A Japanese indie game developer has received a blackmail email demanding money under the threat that a cloned game created using generative AI would be released first.

The person who revealed the blackmail email is Takashi Mochibe of Studio At Home, developing the strategy RPG 'Dragon's Chronicles ~Twin Stars of Reginleive~'. The work is a strategy RPG currently in production with a target release on Steam in 2027.

According to the materials released by Takashi Mochibe on X, the sender claimed to have already created a game similar to the work using AI tools and was ready to launch it on Steam first. The sender then notified that if Steam items worth 200 dollars (approximately 260,000 KRW) were paid within 24 hours, the cloned work would not be disclosed. The sender claimed to have attached a video as evidence of making the cloned game, but it was reported that no such video was actually included.

Takashi Mochibe did not comply with the blackmail and stated that it is impossible to simply clone the strategy RPG in production using AI. Takashi Mochibe explained that a reply was sent expressing willingness to actually purchase the cloned game if it turned out to be even more entertaining. Furthermore, Takashi Mochibe raised the possibility that the email might be a fraudulent message sent randomly to unspecified developers, urging other developers to exercise caution.

Similar concerns are appearing among overseas indie game developers. Some developers have reported cases where similar works are registered shortly after releasing gameplay footage, and in Japan, the developer of the strategy game 'Project Solaris' stated that regular development updates would be reduced to prevent cloning damage. In addition, 'Pukey Goddess Shot Trick', the upcoming title from the developer of Yung-Yung Jeonpa Syndrome which garnered attention for its attractive characters, was originally scheduled to present a demo version at the upcoming October Next Fest, but the schedule was changed to a closed test due to concerns over AI cloning.