Unboxing Copycat games sold on the Switch Eshop

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Summary

  • Despite its success, Unpacking faced copycats on mobile and Nintendo's eShop.
  • The copies reskinned Unpacking's assets on mobile and disguised themselves as official DLC on the eShop.
  • Unpacking offers a relaxing gameplay loop, telling a story by unpacking goods without words, making it accessible to all players.



Until recently, Witch Beam's cozy puzzle game Unpacking It still had several knockoffs on the Nintendo eShop, despite co-creator Wren Brier calling attention to the situation two weeks ago. After its launch in 2021, Unpacking received predominantly positive reviews and took home a wide range of awards, including BAFTA's EE Game of the Year and DICE's Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game, as well as awards for narrative, sound design, accessibility, animation, environmental art, and game design from other outlets.

With the praise and recognition inevitably came others who wanted to take advantage of the game's successful premise and Unpacking almost immediately he found himself the victim of imitations in mobile game stores. Instead of being able to sit back after years of development, the small indie team at Witch Beam had to get to work fighting to protect their IP. And the imitators were shameless, in many cases barely reskinned Unpackingits assets before filling it with ads and posting it in stores.


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The blatant copies eventually made their way to Nintendo's eShop, a situation Wren Brier complained about on December 15 after contacting the gaming giant two weeks prior. Instead of being ad-laden free-to-play games like on mobile, these Switch knockoffs were sold for just a few bucks, to contrast with Unpacking$19.99 price tag. The oldest of them was posted in late October, while four others were added a month later, apparently from the same account. They seemed to be marketed as DLC for the actual game, with titles like “Chill Music Pack”, “New Chapters” and “Haunting Locations”. At the time of writing, these Unpacking knockoffs seem to be no longer available on the eShop.


The copycats of the package seem to have scattered for now

It's been over two weeks and these are still on the eShop. Nintendo has not responded to any of our reports regarding these blatant scams that use our registered game name and intentionally trick Nintendo customers into buying cheap fakes.— Wren Brier (@wrenegade.bsky.social) 12-24-2024 16T05:55: 21.046Z


The call of Unpacking it is undeniable. Originally conceptualized in early 2018 by Wren Brier, the puzzle game was originally conceived and developed with her partner, Witch Beam co-director Tim Dawson. As the project grew, more members joined the previously small indie team Unpacking it was finally published in 2021 by Humble Games. Part of its appeal is the simple and relaxing gameplay loop.


Unpacking follows an unnamed protagonist through several years of her life, and her story is told only through her possessions. Starting in 1997, players unpack her belongings as she moves from one location to another, discovering details about her personality and experiences through the items she owns. The comfortable gameplay induces a kind of meditative state as players satisfyingly pull items out of boxes and find the right place for them in each new house. Throughout, a pleasant soundtrack accompanies the game, and since there are no words, Unpacking it's accessible to everyone…out of the box.

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