A game developer has canceled the public demo of its upcoming title over fears that people could use AI to copy it before the full game is released.
Alliance Arts announced that the planned October 19 demo for Drunken Goddess Reflux would no longer be made publicly available, with the company instead opting for closed online play sessions.
Developer fears AI could copy game before release
Drunken Goddess Reflux is an upcoming indie game listed on Steam, where it is described as a drinking survival game that pits players against a demon in a twisted version of Russian roulette.
The game does not yet have a confirmed release date, but a public demo had been scheduled to launch on Monday, October 19.
However, Alliance Arts announced a change of plans just days before its release, citing concerns that the demo could give others an opportunity to replicate the game.
“We’re concerned that the demo’s content could be used to quickly imitate or replicate the game’s presentation and gameplay with AI or other tools, and that such works could be released before our launch,” the company explained.
The developer had initially planned to release the demo with restrictions on sharing and streaming gameplay footage.
However, it concluded that its current team would be unable to properly enforce those restrictions if the demo were made publicly available.
“We had planned to release the demo publicly with some restrictions on posting and streaming gameplay videos. However, we concluded that we can’t properly manage those restrictions with our current team,” Alliance Arts said.
Rather than canceling the opportunity to play the game entirely, the developer will instead hold closed online sessions for a limited number of participants.
Anyone interested will need to agree to the participation requirements and rules surrounding gameplay footage before being allowed to take part.
Applications are being handled through the official Discord server, which will also be used to collect feedback from participants.
“We sincerely apologize for the short notice to everyone who was looking forward to it,” the company added.