The last time a title resembling The Last of Us appeared on a platform, it had nothing to do with Naughty Dog, and now Game Science in China has little to do with this fake…

This time, the fake has also appeared on Nintendo’s eShop (The Last of Us bootleg was also available here), and the name is deceptive: Wukong Sun: Black Legend. So it’s pretty similar to what Game Science has created, and it’s scheduled for release on Thursday, December 26th (unless Nintendo steps in before then). The $8 price tag is for a 2D action game, not a big-budget 3D title. However, the same source material and promotional images, as well as the name, are very similar to Game Science’s product, which is said to have sold over 20 million copies in its first month of release (although the game is not yet out on the Xbox Series).

“Embark on an epic journey to the west in Wukong Sun: Black Legend. Assume the role of the immortal Wukong, the legendary Monkey King, as he battles his way through a chaotic world teeming with powerful monsters and untold dangers. Explore a story inspired by Chinese mythology, filled with action-packed battles, stunning environments, and legendary enemies,” reads the eShop listing for the upcoming game. According to Business Insider, China’s Twitter replacement Weibo quickly became a popular place to discuss the fake game.

“Well-known games have long been plagued by imitations. Malicious developers use the names of well-known games, reskin various small games, and put them on the shelves of major game stores with similar titles, luring uninformed consumers to buy and download them,” Pear Video, a popular online news portal, reported. The Big N did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment, and Global Game Studio, the team behind the fake, also ignored the publication.

The creative director of indie hit Unpacking recently spoke out against Nintendo for its apparent inaction regarding trademark infringement on the Switch eShop, as several Unpacking titles with similar names and themes have been sold on Nintendo’s online marketplace in recent months: “Nintendo has not responded to any of our reports of these egregious scams using our trademarked game name and deliberately tricking Nintendo customers into buying cheap fakes,” Unpacking developer Wren Brier said last week.

Counterfeits are bad.

Source: VGC