Fake Version of Microsoft Exclusive Game 'Cuphead' Makes it Onto iOS App Store for $4.99 [Update: Removed]

Monday December 18, 2017 5:53 AM PST by Mitchel Broussard
After a fake app for MyEtherWallet.com rose to gain prominence on the iOS App Store last week, another scam has hit Apple's App Store in the form of a fake version of the popular side-scrolling shooter Cuphead, which is an Xbox One and PC exclusive (via TouchArcade). The app is still on the App Store as of writing and sells for $4.99, listing what seems to be Cuphead's actual developer -- StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc. -- as the app's seller, which is an incorrect description of the developer's real name: StudioMDHR.

When news of the fake app spread online this morning, StudioMDHR took to Twitter to confirm that this is not a real version of Cuphead and it will be working to contact Apple and remove the app as soon as possible.


Cuphead launched on September 29 as an exclusive for Microsoft Windows PCs and the Xbox One console. StudioMDHR has hinted that it has "plans to support" other platforms in the future, but those plans appear to be focused on macOS and not iOS. For the fake app, the App Store listing appears to use real screenshots from the game, while a video shows off touch screen controls with a joystick and A and B buttons appearing as the inputs to control the main character.

Apple's app review process tends to be very strict, so it's again unclear how a fake app asking users for money made it past the company in the first place. For MyEtherWallet, that fraudulent app also charged people $4.99, making it as high as #3 on the App Store's Finance charts and existing on the store for over one week. Apple eventually removed the app from the App Store, which it is expected to do for Cuphead as well.

Update 7:32 a.m. PST: Apple has removed Cuphead from the iOS App Store.

Tag: App Store
21 comments


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ArtOfWarfare
23 weeks ago

The Verge ('https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/18/16789870/apple-ios-fake-cuphead-game-app-store-studiomdhr') reported that it is playable, but expectedly janky: "You actually can play this version of Cuphead using touch controls, but it’s... a little off. The backgrounds look low-resolution, the animation is primitive. Some basic elements don’t seem adapted to a touchscreen: its menu screen still tells you to “push any button,” for instance."


That's interesting. So there's an actual iOS emulator capable of running the game then... that or someone managed to decompile the game for another platform and recompile it for iOS, which seems even less likely to me.
Rating: 2 Votes
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Solomani
23 weeks ago
It is not enough for Apple to remove/ban these fake apps on the App Store. Both Microsoft and Apple (with the help of the FBI) also need to go after these developers legally, for fraud as well as copyright/IP infringements.
Rating: 2 Votes
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jonnysods
23 weeks ago

They merely lost time preparing this app. Apple will not be paying them a dime.

What's curious is how they got this app functioning enough to pass the review process? Is there an automated app making tool that they've developed? Can they use it to churn out dozens upon dozens of fake apps using their approach?

I honestly don't know how these people sleep at night, knowing that they are scum.


The more tech improves, the more ways jerks find to rip off unsuspecting people. Its a shame.
Rating: 2 Votes
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newyorksole
23 weeks ago
It’s the holiday season so it seems like some employees in the iOS App Store division are off of work Lol.
Rating: 1 Votes
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earthTOmitchel
23 weeks ago

Have they actually ported the game though or is it a completely fake app that does nothing on install?

The Verge ('https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/18/16789870/apple-ios-fake-cuphead-game-app-store-studiomdhr') reported that it is playable, but expectedly janky: "You actually can play this version of Cuphead using touch controls, but it’s... a little off. The backgrounds look low-resolution, the animation is primitive. Some basic elements don’t seem adapted to a touchscreen: its menu screen still tells you to “push any button,” for instance."
Rating: 1 Votes
Avatar
Janichsan
23 weeks ago

That's interesting. So there's an actual iOS emulator capable of running the game then... that or someone managed to decompile the game for another platform and recompile it for iOS, which seems even less likely to me.

They probably just ripped the original's resources (graphics, music, etc.) - which isn't that difficult - and hastily slapped together a game resembling the original.
Rating: 1 Votes
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69Mustang
23 weeks ago
Has Apple automated more of the approval process? If they have, I wonder if there's an approval "cheat" floating around the underbelly of the internet.
Rating: 1 Votes
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lellis2k
23 weeks ago
Have they actually ported the game though or is it a completely fake app that does nothing on install?
Rating: 1 Votes
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