Knockoff Demon Slayer Game Exposed to Sunlight and Shut Down in 5 Days

A knockoff Demon Slayer game recently released for smartphones but it didn’t take long for not-Tanjiro’s quest for revenge to end. [Thanks, Automaton.]

Demon Slayer‘s Japanese title is Kimetsu no Yaiba, which means “Blade of Demon Destruction”. On April 24, 2020, a smartphone app called Kisatsu no Tsurugi (“Sword of Demon Slaying”) released in Japan. The game not only featured a similar name but pretty much a copy-pasted story and character designs to go with it. However, Tanjiro’s Tatsuya’s quest to get revenge on the demons who killed his family has come to an end. The game was officially shut down earlier today after it abruptly ended micro-transactions and deleted from the store.

Here’s a look at some screenshots:

鬼殺の剣って、、
これは完全にパクりでしょ笑#鬼滅の刃 #鬼殺の剣 pic.twitter.com/IqBX6mpvCo

— しゅんち (@GameShun16) April 26, 2020

The story of Kisatsu no Tsurugi is about a young man named Tatsuya who goes on a journey to slay demons after his family is killed by demons. It’s basically Demon Slayer with everything from similar characters to even the logo design.

こ、これは…#鬼滅の刃　#鬼殺の剣 pic.twitter.com/0zFO4VFmpn

— 徳谷 (@bucca_boo) April 25, 2020

Here we have Tatsuya and his sister Kasumi, together with the cowardly Hikaru and the hot-headed Okami.

盗作疑惑のある鬼殺の剣の中のキャラクターがそのまますぎて笑う

これは確信犯 pic.twitter.com/mNDBS0oXui

— アクペ (@perion1975) April 27, 2020

As you can see, the whole crew is in the game.

Not much is known about the South Korea-based developer called Ten-Nine. The gameplay was a simple 2D side-scroller with systems that appeared to have been copied from Sword Master Story released by CodeCAT in South Korea last September.

Korean gaming site Game Mecca reached out to Ten-Nine to ask about the similarities of the game and Demon Slayer. However, according to the person in charge, Kisatsu no Tsurugi takes place in a world where you fight demons. It also features characters in Japanese-style clothing. While Ten-Nine continued denying allegations of plagiarism, the game is no longer available to download across smartphone markets..