Mob Entertainment (originally EnchantedMob) is the company behind the hugely popular horror-adventure game series, Poppy Playtime. The franchise introduces players to the abandoned Playtime Co. toy factory, where they must evade the grasp of sinister toys like Huggy Wuggy and Mommy Long Legs. In order to survive the toys, players solve puzzles and strategically sneak through the eerie environment. Poppy Playtime has expanded to PC, mobile devices, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and even Roblox since its original release in 2021. The series’ popularity has reached such height that Mob Entertainment began a multi-year partnership with Scholastic to produce books delving into the game’s lore.
Mob Entertainment announced the upcoming release of Poppy Playtime Chapter 4, which is set to launch later this month in January 2025. Although the game’s development has likely kept Mob Entertainment preoccupied, this has not dissuaded the company from taking legal action against Google and multiple mobile game’s for allegedly stealing their assets.
Mob Entertainment is suing Google as well as the alleged offending games, for failing to remove said games from mobile stores despite allegedly breaking copyright guidelines. They claim that Google allegedly failed to remove the alleged fake apps in spite of numerous DMCA notices because the search engine receives 15% or 30% of each sale. Mob Entertainment claims to have contacted Google over the matter on multiple occasions using a variety of methods, to no avail.
Daigo Game 2020 company released two games that allegedly stole protected assets, called Poppy Playtime: Chapter 3 and Poppy Playtime: Chapter 4, according to Mob Entertainment. These alleged copycat games were launched before the official Poppy Playtime titles, creating confusion among potential players. The suit claims that Daigo Game 2020’s games were not actually games at all, and instead allegedly tricked fans into downloading advertisements in disguise. Once the allegedly fake games were downloaded, they would ask players to spend between $30 and $95 to play the “Guide wuggy playtime mod.”
The suit is working toward compensation for Mob Entertainment in the form of up to $150,000 per alleged offending game. In addition, it seeks an injunction designed to prevent the scenario from occurring in the future. Only time will tell if the company’s legal action is able to create significant change in the way mobile app stores currently operate.