Hi Hangry’s,

This week, we’re tackling a topic that hits close to home for many small studios like ours: intellectual property theft, the ethics of game development in open platforms, building in public, and the ripple effects these actions have on indie creators building with care, creativity and a growing community.

One of 2025’s surprise indie hits, Peak, a chaotic, co-op climbing adventure by the brilliant folks at Aggro Crab, has found itself shamelessly copied on Roblox under the name Cliff.

It’s not just "inspired by"... it’s mechanically, visually and stylistically lifted. Cliff launched with nearly identical art and gameplay, and despite Aggro Crab's very clear callout of the ripoff, it’s already been played over 5 million times. It even monetises in-game items with microtransactions, earning revenue that never touches the hands of the original developers, while Roblox itself also profits from the activity.

“TBH would rather you pirate our game than play this microtransaction-riddled @Roblox slop ripoff,” said Aggro Crab in a direct, and understandable, post on social media.

And we agree.

These practices exploit small developers while celebrating scale and virality at the expense of originality, effort and community. When games like Peak cost less than a sandwich ($7.99), it's hard to justify rewarding blatant clones built for a cash grab.

We live in an exciting time where AI tools, low-code platforms and sandbox engines make game creation more accessible than ever. That's great. But with that freedom and power at a creator's fingertips comes responsibility. Platforms like Roblox must do more to uphold ethical standards, protect original ideas, and give credit and control to the creators who shaped the experiences they're profiting from.

At Hangry Animals, we’ve poured our hearts into building a world that’s meaningful, messy, and fun, a game with a mission to educate, entertain and uplift, while delivering genuine laughs and challenges for younger audiences and families alike.

When others blatantly lift without care, it damages trust in creative communities, discourages risk-taking, and pushes creators into silence… or out of the industry altogether.

We’ve recently been journaling about the UK’s new Online Safety Bill, which aims to make digital spaces safer, especially for children and vulnerable users, as well as enforce a proof of age and identity measure to further force platforms to comply with age appropriate content. While the bill focuses on content moderation and platform accountability, it opens the door for a broader conversation around ethical content, monetisation, and protecting younger players from exploitation.

In theory, a world where exploitative clones flood platforms is exactly the kind of thing responsible regulation should discourage, especially when those platforms' entire strategy is to empower younger creators and actively market to younger audiences.

We’re not anti-AI or anti-fan creation. Far from it. We embrace remix culture, community mods, and playful iteration. But we’re anti-exploitation. Especially when it undermines the hard work of small teams. There’s a line between inspiration and theft, and it’s time we acknowledge when that line’s been crossed, and hold platforms accountable for allowing it.

We make games for good causes. That means standing up for good practices too.

• Peak, a hit indie game by Aggro Crab, has been blatantly copied on Roblox as Cliff, with monetisation that benefits the copycat and Roblox.

• As a small studio, we stand with Peak and other indie devs against this kind of IP theft.

• Platforms must do more to protect creators and encourage originality.

It's been a slow one this week, with other projects taking centre stage, and the closing our of our R&D project with Media Cymru consuming our focus. The stats are awesome, and we will seek to publish our findings in the near future for sure!

The next task on our list is fleshing out the Food Order system, where the vendors get added every time a level is completed. This is the core of the game and will take some time to build out dynamically with some variance to ensure fresh replay ability down the line. Order up! We're excited to start coding this next week.

Nope, we didn't get the third application we bid for, which is a kick in the proverbial, but we're not deterred, simply fuelled to make game experiences that have impact. We will continue to seek out suitable grant and competitive funds that align with our mission to grow the studio and experience until we're generating the revenue we need for a sustainable future. Onwards.

Until next time, support original creators. Buy the real game. Build with heart. Make fun. Stay Hangry.

With respect and resilience,
The Hangry Animals Team
www.hangryanimals.com

👋 Just joined us? 

You can rummage through every past issue on our newsletter homepage in Paragraph.
No paywall, no spam, just pure Hangry.

👍 Got questions or reflections?
Pop them into the #ideas-vault on Discord or email us at hello@hangryanimals.com. 

👉Still want more?
Click here to explore our social channels