Apple’s App Store has been notorious for failing to properly filter out apps that are being released in their store. Studio MDHR’s Cuphead, is one of the recent scams that launched in the App Store today as a fake version of the game was released but has been swiftly taken down.

Looking at the iTunes preview page, the game looks legit, which confused and hyped fans of the game. Upon further investigation by the community and Studio MDHR, it turns out that the fake app was hosted in Hungary and is owned by Sheridens LTD. that has done a similar release before when they made an unofficial mobile port of Gang Beasts. 

Although the fake game is no longer available to download, the folks at Polygon were able to purchase the game and test out its controls, and their test revealed that the game is a straight lift of Cuphead with the addition of virtual controls that is very glitchy. It has also been reported that the game crashed multiple times even as it displayed low-res backgrounds, and bad animation that can be expected from a rip-off of the original game. Studio MDHR also warned fans of the fake game via a Tweet:

As multiple instances of fake games being published in the App Store keep on happening, it is natural to wonder how Apple filter the apps getting released in their store. It may be understandable if this scam happened on smaller and lesser known games, but for a game as big as Cuphead, it begs the question as to whether the App Store even filter submissions in the first place. Apple is yet to make an official statement, if they ever will give out one, on the recent forgeries happening in the store. I guess we can all learn a lesson from this and be vigilant when purchasing apps, even from giant platforms such as Apple’s App Store. 

Were you able to purchase the fake Cuphead too? Why do you think Apple failed at quality control?