Minecraft 2 Scam Game Emerges, Mojang Working to Remove It

Microsoft-owned Mojang is working to remove a fraudulent Minecraft game from iTunes.

As Eurogamer reports, a game called Minecraft Pocket Edition 2 was recently released on Apple's store--but it's not made by Mojang and isn't much of a game at all. Despite that, the $7 game (same price as the genuine version) raced to the top of the top-grossing charts, reaching No. 4, though it's since fallen down.

Pocket Edition 2's official description sounds good enough, saying players can explore randomly generated worlds and "build amazing things" in true Minecraft form. The description even contains a link to a trailer for the real version of Minecraft's Pocket Edition.

However, Eurogamer installed Pocket Edition 2 and found it to be nothing like Minecraft at all.

"Minecraft: Pocket Edition 2 is a terrible top-down swipe game in which zombies attack Scorpion from Mortal Kombat," the site wrote. "I bought it and spent a few minutes 'playing' it before it crashed my iPhone. If it isn't already obvious, don't buy it."

The creator is listed as "Scott Cawthorn," a misspelling of Five Nights at Freddy's creator Scott Cawthon. Some other games released by "Cawthorn" include what appear to be illegitimate Five Nights at Freddy's and Mortal Kombat games.

At press time, Minecraft Pocket Edition 2 remains available to buy on iTunes (where it has all five-star ratings), though Mojang is hoping that won't be the case for much longer.

"It's great that Minecraft has inspired people to create amazing things, but when a product attempts to dupe our community or exploit their enthusiasm for the game, it's our responsibility to step in," Mojang's Owen Hill told Eurogamer. "Our dedicated enforcement team are extremely busy!"

Microsoft and Mojang have talked about eventually making a "Minecraft 2," but this is not it.