Game studio hits Hasbro with cloning lawsuit

Turkish mobile developer Peak Games has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Hasbro's mobile division, Backflip Games, for allegedly cloning its color-matching puzzler, Toy Blast. 

The lawsuit, picked up by VentureBeat, suggests that Backflip's latest release My Little Pony: Puzzle Party -- which launched globally on October 13 -- is for all intents and purposes a "re-skin of Toy Blast."

Peak's legal representative Jennifer Kelly says the infringement was "immediately obvious," and referred to any perceived differences between the two titles (shown below) as "trivial." 

More specifically, the lawsuit posits that most aspects of My Little Pony have been pulled directly from Toy Blast, down to the game's tutorial, numerical scores, and level design. 

As such, Peak felt it had no choice but to begin legal proceedings, although the developer says it didn't take the decision lightly. Hasbro, for its part, has yet to comment.

"Peak Games has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Hasbro and Backflip Studios for taking Peak’s popular game, Toy Blast, cloning it, and cloaking it under the My Little Pony brand," explained Kelly. 

"Peak believes it is obligated to protect its team's creativity and hard work, and to discourage others from taking the shortcut of cloning a leading game in the genre."

Image credit: Peak Games via VentureBeat