14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has apparently approved the duplicated (pirated) version of Lugaru HD, a $9.99 application, failing to notice that the copycat developer simply took the open-sourced code, repackaged it, and submitted it to the Mac App Store to sell for just $1.99.
Apple prides itself on the efforts is makes to crack down on scammers, piracy, and content that is too explicit for certain ages, but even its App Store Review Board sometimes fails to see the bigger picture.
“This is a kind of software fraud we’ve never even heard of: a pirate simply downloading the app and resubmitting it to the same distribution channel at a lower price,” the developers at Wolfire say.
“We immediately emailed Apple explaining the situation, expecting them to quickly investigate the situation, shut down the fraudulent app, and follow up with us. We started this process a few days ago, and haven’t heard back from Apple yet.”
The developers expected Apple to notice the striking similarities between Lugaru and Lugaru HD (the original, $9.99 app).
In the game, players fight through a detailed 3D world to avenge the death of their wife and daughter and to expose a deadly lupine conspiracy.
Before proceeding to download Lugaru HD, gamers are told to note that the game contains brutal, bloody combat.
Sadly, the pirated app got approved and is still selling for 2 bucks at the time of this writing.
"We expected pirated copies of games to be available in shady corners of the internet, but not in well-known digital distribution channels with famously long review processes," said the developers at Wolfire.
“However, this incident may make developers much less likely to release the source code to their games,” the company went on to stress on its blog.
“Even if Apple takes the counterfeit game down tomorrow, that is theoretically a week of sales down the drain,” they said, adding, “While Lugaru is a very small title on the App Store, there’s no reason why it couldn’t happen to bigger ones, and that could represent an enormous loss of revenue.”
Wolfire upholds that released source code doesn’t make it legal to sell someone else’s game, “[yet] it is apparently enough to make scammers think they could get away with it, and that may be enough to discourage other developers from risking it.”