Most video game knockoffs are cheap and forgettable cash grabs, but there are plenty of exceptions. These infamous imitations of other titles have gone on to become some of the most popular video games of all time.
6Snake
Over the years, there have been countless unofficial re-releases ofSnake; so much so that it can be difficult to remember which one came first. Many people would point to the 1998 Nokia phone version ofSnakeas the original, but even that version was inspired by prior releases. Although Nokia’s version certainly helped popularizeSnake, the first game in this classic genre was released over two decades earlier.
Snake’s simple premise originated with a 1976arcade gametitledBlockade. UnlikeSnake,Blockadeis a competitive multiplayer game in which two players fill a map with a trail of permanent barriers. The goal of every round is to avoid these barriers while attempting to trap the other player within your trail. Whoever outlasts their opponent wins the round, and the game continues until one player wins a set number of rounds.
Blockadeinspired multiple direct ripoffs, such as Atari’sDominosand Ramtek’s four-playerBarricade, but was eventually retooled into a more recognizable single-player game with 1982’sSnake Byte. Whereas priorBlockade-imitators had players creating permanent walls,Snake Bytewas the first game in which you controlled a “snake” that grew in length by collecting pickups scattered around the stage. One significant difference is thatSnake Bytefollows a level-based structure, with each of its 20 levels featuring distinct layouts and obstacles.
Later versions ofSnakeabandoned the level-based structure, but the core gameplay remains relatively unchanged. Whether you credit the creation ofSnaketoBlockadeorSnake Byte, the game has beenremade and re-releasedenough times to have become its own genre.
5Pong
Originally released in 1972 as anarcade cabinet,Pongis still one of the most recognizable games of all time. However, Atari’s landmark title once landed the company in legal trouble.
Only a few months after the release ofPong, the Magnavox Odyssey—the first ever home video game console—hit store shelves with a bundle of games, including a tennis game that looked suspiciously similar toPong. While there were some differences between the two games, their obvious similarities weren’t just a coincidence.
While you might initially assume that Maganvox had copiedPong, both the Odyssey and its tennis game had been publicly demoed at various trade events before development onPonghad started. This prompted Magnavox to launch a lawsuit against Atari, in which it proved thatAtari co-founder Nolan Bushnellhad not only attended one of the “Magnavox Profit Caravan” events where the Odyssey was showcased, but also revealed that he had briefly played a demo of its tennis game before working onPong.
Atari settled out of court, yet it still came out on top.Pongwas a massive success in arcades and on the Atari 2600, though that wasn’t just because it had a head start on the Magnavox Odyssey. To Atari’s credit,Pongimproved on Magnavox’s tennis game in numerous ways, such as having the ball speed up as a match progressed and restricting the paddles' movement to create a more challenging experience. Even if your first exposure toPongwas through Magnavox’s version, Atari’s iconic copycat was undeniably the better game.
4Call of Duty
Throughout the mid-2000s, it seemed like every first-person shooter was gunning to be the nextCall of Duty. But before the series redefined the genre, it began as an attempt to replicate the success of Electronic Arts’sMedal of Honor—the game that sparked a trend of grounded, cinematic World War II shooting games.
Prior to the release ofMedal of Honor, mostWorld War II games likeWolfenstein 3Dplaced you in the role of near-invincible action heroes who could single-handedly mow down entire castles' worth of foes.Medal of Honordelivered a more realistic experience that drew inspiration from the harrowing violence of war movies likeSaving Private Ryan, though that may have been partially influenced by one of the game’s lead writers and producers: Steven Spielberg. Instead of rushing through the front lines as a one-man army,Medal of Honorwas about sneaking behind enemy lines as an ordinary soldier.
Medal of Honorand its first few sequels were massively successful. However, their tumultuous development cycles caused many of the series' lead developers to abandon EA and join Activision, where they would work onCall of Duty. The originalCall of Dutywas always intended to compete withMedal of Honor,even being named “MOH [Medal of Honor] killer"at the start of its development. The game borrowed heavily fromMedal of Honor’s grounded gameplay and cinematic presentation, but boasted larger levels that featured more on-screen action and an ambitious campaign that presented the Second World War from multiple perspectives.
TheCall of Dutyfranchisehas revisited the World War II setting in recent entries likeCall of Duty: Vanguardand the creatively titledCall of Duty: WWII. However, the series is best known for carving its own identity with theunforgettable campaignsof games likeCall of Duty 4: Modern WarfareandCall of Duty: Black Ops, as well as its timeless multiplayer modes. Today, the first-person shooter genre is filled with far moreCall of Dutyclones than there ever wereMedal of Honorknockoffs.
3Angry Birds
Angry Birdsused to beone of the top mobile games in the world, and it’s not hard to understand why. Its explosive physics puzzles,destructible levels, and simple controls make for a flashy experience that anyone can easily pick up and enjoy. However, the iconic formula that shaped the manyAngry Birdsgames and spin-offs was lifted from a lesser-known indie series.
Castle Cloutwas the first game to introduce the physics-based puzzles that would be popularized byAngry Birds. Much likeAngry Birds,Castle Clouthas you flinging projectiles (boulders instead of birds, in this case) to topple flimsy fortresses and crush various targets. Despite its simplicity,Castle Cloutsaw enough success to spawn multiple sequels and imitators.
One of these clones isCrush the Castle, which broughtCastle Clout’s concept to mobile phones. The game’s sequel—Crush the Castle 2—expanded the original idea by introducing even more projectiles with unique abilities, giving levels much more variation than seen in previous titles. Although the idea originated fromCastle Clout, the touch-screen controls and expanded gameplay ofCrush the Castleis often cited as the primary inspiration for Rovio’sAngry Birds.
2Fortnite
After years of seeingFortnitedominate the battle royale genre, it’s easy to forget that it started out as a completely different game.Fortniteoriginally launched in early access as a co-op zombie shooter with tower-defense elements and a heavy emphasis on crafting mechanics. However, the game’s massively popular battle royale mode quickly overtook the original experience, despite being a blatant knockoff of another viral sensation.
BeforeFortnitewas known as the #1 battle royale game,that honor belonged toPlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds—more commonly known asPUBG.PUBGintroduced the modern battle royale format, wherein 100 players drop onto an expansive map and eliminate each other using guns, melee weapons, and vehicles until only one competitor remains.PUBGquickly exploded in popularity, prompting other studios to release similar games or add battle royale modes to existing titles. It didn’t take long for the battle royale genre to become oversaturated, but there are a few reasonsFortnitestood out from the competition.
Compared to the wave of low-budgetPUBGknockoffs that followed the original game’s success,Fortnite’s satisfying combat and fast-paced movement was a breath of fresh air for battle royale fans. The game also set itself apart with its frequent content updates, colorful art style, and signature “build” feature. Most importantly,Fortnite Battle Royaleisfree-to-playon both consoles and PCs, which helped the game to quickly amass millions of active players while many other games struggled to fill a single match.
PUBGmay have revolutionized the battle royale genre, but it and many other games have since started followingFortnite’s lead.
1Vampire Survivors
The addictively funVampire Survivorsintroduced many players to a creative twist on thebullet-hell genre. Instead of dodging a constant barrage of bullets,Vampire Survivorslets you mow through thousands of enemies by collecting, upgrading, and combining an extensive variety of powerful weapons. Like many other popular games,Vampire Survivorshas seen its fair share of imitators—with fans coining the term “bullet-heaven” for the new genre it spawned. However, as with every other game on this list,Vampire Survivorsowes its ideas to a lesser-known gem.
VampireSurvivorswas heavily inspired by an earlier mobile game titledMagic Survival, which features a near-identical gameplay loop. Most of the core pillars of the bullet-heaven genre originate fromMagic Survival, including collecting experience points from pick-ups dropped by enemies, multiple weapon variants that can be upgraded and merged (some of which were directly copied byVampire Survivors), and similar progression systems. At launch,Vampire Survivorslacked much distinction fromMagic Survivalapart from its sprite art, some of which had also been taken from other sources.
Despite their initial similarities,Vampire SurvivorsandMagic Survivalhave both grown into different games through their many updates and expansions. Both games have added tons of new content, new assets, and even new gameplay mechanics that have helped set them apart.Vampire Survivorshas greatly expanded its breadth of content through both free updates andpaid DLC, whileMagic Survivalhas focused on adding more depth and replay value to its simple yet addictive formula.
Just because a game is a “knockoff” doesn’t mean it’s inherently bad. While some games simply plagiarize ideas from more popular works, others find ways to improve them in inventive ways. All video games are iterative—some just happen to bea bit more iterative than others. The most important factor that separates a cheap knockoff from a proper successor is whether the game can set itself apart from its predecessors.
