The game was a knock-off of Dinosaur Polo Club’s travel puzzle game, which remains on the store. The developer previously responded, noting “if required, we will take legal action”. It’s unclear if this was done but the game no longer exists on the store nonetheless.
UPDATE 19/07/22:
Mini Metro developer Dinosaur Polo Club has responded to the release of copycat game Mini Subway.
“As a small indie studio, we recognize that our own successes are, in part, due to standing on the shoulders of giants, and that part of the creative process involves taking inspiration from others and making it your own. Seeing people take inspiration from our games has been an amazing experience, but of course, there’s a difference between inspiration and plagiarism,” a spokesperson told Eurogamer.
“We owe it to our team to defend the work we’ve invested so much into, so we evaluate every report of copycat or clone versions of our games to assess whether they breach our trademark. While we always try to reach out to the developers first, if required, we will take legal action.
“It’s a joy to see our games inspire others to make their own. We are nothing if not sympathetic to the hard work of fellow indie devs, but the work should be inspired by, not copied from.”
ORIGINAL STORY 14/07/22:
Mini Subway: Logic on the Metro Line is a new game released on the Switch eShop today that tasks players with designing a network of coloured metro lines.
Sound familiar? It certainly looks an awful lot like Mini Metro, the puzzle strategy game from New Zealand developer Dinosaur Polo Club.
Mini Subway is available for £3.59 and has been developed by Red Fables, published by Cooking and Publishing.
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“Mini Subway: Login on the Metro Line is a game in which you will design the subway station network of a city,” reads the eShop description.
“Trace different lines between stations and put all your trains in motion, but be careful! All passengers have to reach their destination. Make your routes efficient and modify them as new stations are opened. Decide how to use your limited resources - how long can you keep the city running at full capacity?”
From the gameplay to the visuals, the game is clearly an uncanny replication of Mini Metro - even down to the station shapes.
Eurogamer has contacted Dinosaur Polo Club for comment.
Mini Metro has been on the Switch since 2018, currently priced at £7.49. A search for Mini Metro brings up the original game first, followed by Mini Subway. The studio’s follow-up game, Mini Motorways, is also available on Switch for £11.99. Both games are also available on mobile and PC. This is far from the first time developers have copied success stories. A clone of Unpacking was widely criticised and eventually removed from the Google Play store. And just this week, a Fall Guys clone called Stumble Guys has topped the iPhone app chart.
