Someone cloned my developer name on itch
A documented variant of the impersonation pattern: an account appears with your developer name plus or minus one character - "StudioName" becomes "StudioNames" - republishing your games or "new" games under your identity. Players see the name they trust; the account is not yours.
Why one letter works
Store search is forgiving, human memory more so. A player who saw your name in a video or a jam page searches it, lands on the clone, and has no reason to compare spellings. The clone inherits your reputation at zero cost - until someone gets hurt under your name.
Getting it removed
itch.io's quality guidelines ban impersonating other creators, and near-name creator clones are the textbook case. Report via the page's "Report" link or [email protected]: your account, the clone account, the spelling difference stated explicitly, what it republishes, and that you can verify ownership from your developer account. Screenshot first - clones sometimes rename after the first report.
If the clone republishes your game builds or art, add a DMCA for the assets - it forces removal of the content even while the account question is processed.
Making your real identity verifiable
- Cross-link everything: your itch profile ↔ your site ↔ your store pages ↔ your socials. A clone can copy one node, not the mesh.
- Put your exact handles on your own site ("our only accounts are …") - the anchor players and platforms check against.
- Watch for near-name registrations: the same one-letter trick appears in domains before it appears in accounts, and certificate-transparency monitoring sees new domains at issuance - what monitoring watches.
Common questions
Q: The clone predates my itch account (I'm new there). Who wins?
A: Identity, not registration date - if it uses your established name and games from elsewhere (Steam, socials), the impersonation report stands. Bring the cross-links as evidence.
Q: The clone is on Steam, not itch. Different path?
A: Same principle via Steamworks support - first-party developer reports with the spelling difference stated explicitly.
Q: Should I buy the near-name domains myself?
A: The common one or two, cheaply, maybe - but you cannot outbuy a pattern. Detection beats preemption here.
Check your own game now. The free scan looks for lookalike pages using your title, art, or description - no account, private report. Continuous monitoring: Game Title Watch from $9/month.
Related answers
- There's a fake itch.io page of my game
- The fake playtest invite scam - what developers need to know
- A fake website is impersonating my game
Game Title Watch provides monitoring assistance, not legal advice. Findings are similarity signals that require your confirmation - they are not accusations about any website. Where an external service has flagged a page, we cite that flag; we never make such claims ourselves.