The Exit 8 developer denies involvement with “The Exit 9” copycat game 

Fans of the anomaly-spotting immersive walking sim The Exit 8 have been noticing a real-life anomaly over the last week. A game called The Exit 9 has appeared on the PlayStation store, bearing a strong resemblance to the Japanese indie hit both in name and description. This has caught the attention of The Exit 8’s developer KOTAKE CREATE, who has denied that The Exit 9 has anything to do with them. 

The Exit 8 is a first-person walking sim in which you are trapped in a seemingly endless loop of Japanese subway station passageways. You must spot anomalies in your surroundings in order to safely make it to the titular Exit 8. Since the game’s release last November, it has become a top seller on Steam and has garnered a Very Positive review rating, with players praising its creepy atmosphere and original concept.

The Exit 8’s success has led to many similar first-person games being released that use The Exit 8’s “spot-the-difference” style gameplay but change the setting. These include Station 5, The Street 10 and Chilla’s Art’s upcoming Shinkansen 0.  

The Exit 8’s developer has previously expressed approval for these “Exit 8-like” games, saying that “it is absolutely ok to make a new game that “puts a new spin on existing games,” as long as it isn’t exactly the same setting or gameplay system etc.”  (Related Article) 

However, a game called The Exit 9 recently appeared on the US PlayStation store. Releasing on January 25 and retailing for $14.99, the game caught the attention of The Exit 8 fans, some of whom asked KOTAKE CREATE about it. The Exit 8 game developer took to X to deny their involvement with the copycat game. 

I have had several inquiries,
The recently released "The Exit 9" on the PS Store is a game by a different developer.
It has nothing to do with "The Exit 8.
If you do not see the name "KOTAKE CREATE" in the developer's name or publisher's name, it is a different developer.

— コタケクリエイト (@NOTOKEKE) January 29, 2024

The appearance of The Exit 9 also generated discussion on Steam as well as in forums such as Japanese message board Nan J God, with commenters focusing on the high degree of similarity between the two games.   

Both English and Japanese language comments highlighted the similarities in the game descriptions. The English-language description for The Exit 9 on the “Game and Legal Info” section on the PlayStation store has been copied word for word from the first two lines of The Exit 8’s “About this Game” description on Steam (You are trapped in an endless underground passageway. Observe your surroundings carefully to reach “The Exit 8”). The Japanese language version has a few word changes, but the overall meaning is the same. 

The name of the game developer also raised suspicions among commenters. The Exit 9 is developed by Game Dev SRL. Users have pointed out that this sounds like a very generic name and stated that they had difficulty finding out any information about the company. At the time of writing, The Exit 9 has 68 ratings on the PlayStation Store, with 49% of these being one star. The Exit 8 is currently available on PC only, so the developers of The Exit 9 are likely taking advantage of the fact that The Exit 8 doesn’t have a console release yet. 

The Exit 8 is available on PC (Steam).