Warner Bros' Westworld mobile game, which bore a notable resemblance to Bethesda Softworks' Fallout Shelter game for smartphones, has been removed from the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. The removal comes seven months after Bethesda sued Warner Bros by calling the Westworld app a "blatant rip-off" of Bethesda's 2015 game Fallout Shelter.

westworld

Westworld on iOS

The lawsuit centered around Behaviour Interactive, the game developer that worked on both Fallout Shelter and Westworld, and who Bethesda accused of breach of contract, copyright infringement, unfair competition, and misappropriation of trade secrets. The dispute continued into the year, and in early January 2019 the companies released a simple one-line statement that said both parties "have amicably resolved" the lawsuit.

After all of this, the @WestworldMobile Twitter account this week released its own statement, noting that the game has been removed from the iOS ‌App Store‌ and Google Play Store as of January 15, 2019. This means players can no longer make in-app purchases. On April 16, 2019, the app will officially close and no longer be supported by the developers. The developers warn players to spend any in-game currency before that date.

ww statement


In the original lawsuit, Bethesda requested the Westworld mobile game to be removed from distribution, so it appears that part of the amicable resolution to the case was the official discontinuation of Westworld on iOS and Android. Users on Twitter asked about potential refunds for the in-app purchases they've already made in the game, but the company has yet to respond regarding this matter.

For those unaware, the similarities between Fallout Shelter and Westworld were striking. Both games task the player with building an underground base of some kind, stocked with interactive characters from a well-known property, and micro-managing small tasks to keep their shelter/Delos facility up and running. Most damning for Westworld and Behaviour Interactive was the discovery that the developer appeared to use the same copyrighted computer code from Fallout Shelter inside of Westworld, down to both games having the same unique bug.

falloutshelter

Fallout Shelter on iOS

Although Westworld has been removed from the iOS ‌App Store‌, it still remains online for now, so players who already downloaded it have three months to play the game while it remains online through April 16.

(Thanks, Nate!)

Top Rated Comments

Juicy Box Avatar
84 months ago
Although Westworld has been removed from the iOS App Store, it still remains online for now, so players who already downloaded it have three months to play the game while it remains online through April 16.
I really think this is one of the biggest problems with mobile gaming, digital media, and gaming on the iOS.

A game can just be lost forever.

I play a lot of retro games, but for many iOS titles, that just won’t be possible.

I can play my old Atari 2600 or 5200 games, my old NES, SNES, N64, GC, and GB games. If there was one I wanted to play , but don’t currently own, chances are I can find it online somewhere.

But, the user has little control over the fate of digital media, and once games are no longer available on the App Store, they are just gone and eventually forgotten.

I just find it a little sad.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
84 months ago
That "iPhone" doesn't have a notch.
iPhone screenshots are always full rectangles - the rounded corners and notched part are filled in. Apple's developer guides explicitly tell developers to treat the drawable area as a full rectangle and to not avoid drawing in the corners or notches just because current devices have those features. That allows Apple to change the curvature of the corners or adjust the notch dimensions and not worry about apps not drawing in those spaces appropriately.

At the same time, obviously developers should be mindful of those features and not put important information or require the user to touch those areas.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mattyj2001 Avatar
84 months ago
No, the article originally showed a phone, captioned "Westworld on iOS", without a notch (see my updated first post for the image). They've updated the article to change the image, but didn't note that they did so as journalists normally do. Thanks for dev-splaining to a developer though.
Thanks for being so pedantic about a screenshot. Not a waste of everyone's time at all.
[doublepost=1547661908][/doublepost]The headline really should be "Shady game developer tries to sell the same game twice." I wonder how Zynga got away with all their game thievery back in the day.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
makitango Avatar
84 months ago
The scourge of online games; they decide when you can play and when you can‘t.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mikey44 Avatar
84 months ago
I really think this is one of the biggest problems with mobile gaming, digital media, and gaming on the iOS.

A game can just be lost forever.

I play a lot of retro games, but for many iOS titles, that just won’t be possible.

But, the user has little control over the fate of digital media, and once games are no longer available on the App Store, they are just gone and eventually forgotten.

I just find it a little sad.
I miss Rolando, which was one of the first most popular games on iOS when it first came out, and the developer was bought out, and it's just gone. Unless I had a backup of it in iTune... wait, oh, and the developer would have to make it available in 64 bit. I agree, it's quite sad. :(

I wonder how much money I have wasted on apps that no longer are listed, or are just gone from the App Store. It kinda pisses me off.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GubbyMan Avatar
84 months ago
I have my iPhone 3GS with all the games I used to play on it. Two of the games I have are Tap Tap Revenge 2 & 3 installed on it. I play these games every once in a while. Tapulous the company behind the games shut down their servers about 6 or 7 years ago so no one have been able to install them since then even though they are still in the purchased tab and can be downloaded on iOS 11 or prior.

The games have to contact the server the first time they are launched. So I could not get them to work even on my iPhone 5 with 32-bit support. If anything happens to my iPhone 3GS and I can not reinstall these apps with the same data then I will loose the Tap Tap games forever and I will never be able to relive the memory of playing them again.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Everything Apple Announced at WWDC 2025 in 10 Minutes

Monday June 9, 2025 5:21 pm PDT by
At today's WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a new design that will inform the next decade of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS development, so needless to say, it was a busy day. Apple also unveiled a ton of new features for the iPhone, an overhauled Spotlight interface for the Mac, and a ton of updates that make the iPad more like a Mac than ever before. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iPadOS 26 Apple Newsroom

Apple Says iPadOS 26 is Compatible With These iPad Models

Monday June 9, 2025 11:22 am PDT by
Apple today announced that iPadOS 26 will be compatible with the iPad models listed below. iPadOS 26 features a new Liquid Glass design, a menu bar, improved app windowing, and more. iPadOS 26 supports the following iPad models:iPad Pro (M4) iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later) iPad Air (M2 and later) iPad Air (3rd generation and...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple 'Sherlocked' These Apps at WWDC 2025

Wednesday June 11, 2025 7:14 am PDT by
Apple at WWDC previewed a bunch of new features coming in its updated operating systems, but certain changes will have been met with dismay by third-party developers who already offer apps with equivalent or similar features. In other words, their product has been "sherlocked" by Apple. When Apple creates an app or a feature that has functionality found in a third-party app, it is referred...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Says These 13 Vehicle Brands Will Soon Offer iPhone Car Keys

Monday June 9, 2025 2:38 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote today, Apple said that 13...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 26 Includes These 100 New Features and Changes for Your iPhone

Tuesday June 10, 2025 11:59 am PDT by
Apple has announced iOS 26, and the upcoming software update includes a long list of new features and changes for iPhones. The first iOS 26 developer beta is now available, and a public beta will follow next month. The update will be released later this year. iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. Below, we have provided a high-level overview of 100 new features and changes ...