AI Copycat Fears Push Dev to Cancel Public Steam Demo for Drunken Goddess Reflux

Alliance Arts, the studio behind the upcoming Russian roulette anime horror drinking game Drunken Goddess Reflux, has pulled the plug on its planned public Steam demo, citing fears that AI "vibe coders" would use the opportunity to clone the game almost instantly. The developer announced the cancellation with little warning, offering an apology to fans who had been looking forward to the public playtest. Rather than scrapping demo access entirely, Alliance Arts says it will pivot to hosting closed sessions instead, limiting who gets hands-on time with the game before launch.

The move reflects a growing anxiety across the indie development space around the risks of publicly showcasing original work in an era where AI-assisted development tools make rapid imitation far more feasible than before. For a small studio working on a niche, creative concept, the prospect of seeing a near-identical product flood storefronts shortly after a public demo is a genuine business threat, not just a hypothetical worry. Alliance Arts appears to have weighed that risk and decided the exposure simply was not worth it, choosing to protect the game's core concept over the marketing benefits a public demo would normally provide.

Sources