On Nintendo eShop, you can acquire Unpacking or Unpacking: Deluxe Edition. You might think these are merely two versions of the same enjoyable game, but that isn’t the reality. In fact, a developer from Unpacking studio Witch Beam is criticizing the latter title as one of the “outrageous scams” on the Switch’s online platform.
As reported by Eurogamer, Unpacking’s creative director Wren Brier has taken to BlueSky to challenge Nintendo to remove “cheap imitations” from the Switch’s eShop. “It’s been over two weeks and these are still available on the eShop,” Brier noted. “Nintendo has yet to respond to any of our notifications regarding these outrageous scams that are exploiting our trademarked game name and deliberately deceiving Nintendo users into purchasing inexpensive imitations.”
Brier first mentioned the Unpacking replicas on November 28 on BlueSky. GameSpot entered “unpacking” into the search bar on Nintendo’s website. The search results did show the original Unpacking first, but right alongside it was Unpacking: Deluxe Edition. Although the thumbnail images for the two titles differ, Unpacking: Deluxe Edition is less expensive and could potentially mislead customers.
The publisher behind Unpacking: Deluxe Edition is CGI Lab. Other games available on the Switch eShop from this company include Cowboys vs Zombies: Deluxe Edition, Anime Puzzle Quest: Deluxe Edition, and Car Parking: Premium Edition.
This is not the first occurrence of Witch Beam facing Unpacking copies. In January 2022, an Unpacking imitation surged to the top of the App Store charts. Unpacking was initially launched in 2021 and became a critical favorite, receiving numerous nominations at the Independent Games Festival.
For further details, check out GameSpot’s Unpacking review.