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Nintendo sure loves a lawsuit, and with that in mind, PlayStation could be in serious trouble as someone has spotted what looks like a copycat of a major IP. Up there with Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon as the big three, the House that Mario Built is also known for Animal Crossing.
We've come a long way from the OG Animal Crossing releasing on the N64 back in 2001, and although the bones are still there in 2020's Animal Crossing: New Horizons as the fifth mainline installment, the franchise continues to evolve.
Animal Crossing will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2026, and with it, players are fully expecting a new game – especially as we now have the Switch 2 to play with.
There have been recent complaints about 'shovelware' games infecting the PlayStation Store. The gaming giant has already been called out for its storefront being a sometimes lawless place, raising questions about who should be responsible for NSFW games and blatant rip-offs of other titles making their way on there.
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Numerous fake games are masquerading as the real deal, but worse than this, Sony could be about to be caught in a legal minefield thanks to a game that takes more than a few cues from Animal Crossing.
Over on Reddit, someone has highlighted Anime Village Online. The game seems to be new on the PlayStation Store, claiming it'll release in 2027...although we don't imagine it'll get that far.
Despite there only being a handful of screenshots, it's clear to see where Anime Village Online got its inspiration. Looking like a muddy version of Animal Crossing, it lacks the polish of Nintendo EPD's games but is a grungy doppelganger. Screenshots show an Animal Crossing-inspired villager who meets with several anthropomorphic animals. Nintendo is notoriously litigious, having famously taken Pocketpair's Palworld to court and managing to patent the idea of monster-catching mechanics.
Even the description for Anime Village Online sounds like it could've been ripped from an Animal Crossing outing, as it states: "Design and expand your own charming house, craft furniture, grow crops, catch fish, and decorate your surroundings to match your personal style."
The OP wrote: "Hey Nintendo? Can you please sue these losers for completely ripping off Animal Crossing?"
Responding to the game, one person added: "Smells like Nintendo's legal team will be here soon."
Another joked: "POV you ordered Animal Crossing off Temu."
Not everyone agreed, as a third concluded: "Do we really want Nintendo to be any more litigious? Idk, this seems heavily inspired by AC for sure but I don't really see a problem with people making cute cozy clone games unless they're slop."
Anime Village Online has apparently been around for a while, with Good Vibes Gaming even going as far as sharing a gameplay video that reveals just how close to Animal Crossing's style it actually is.
If Nintendo doesn't know about the title's existence, we imagine it will before too long.
