The game came out on 25 March 2025 and, almost instantly, caught the attention of thousands of players. Within 48 hours, about 130,000 people had already given it a shot. Reviews were mostly glowing. Many called it a fresh take on the crime sim genre. But just as quickly, it ran into trouble.

Another indie developer noticed something odd. There was talk that Schedule 1 looked a little too familiar — and not by accident. A report soon followed, suggesting the game borrowed quite a bit from an older title already on Steam. Then came an official statement from the Polish Press Agency. According to them, Movie Games S.A. — the team behind the Drug Dealer Simulator series — took a closer look and weren’t happy with what they found.

Their legal review claimed that Schedule 1 had lifted parts of the plot, gameplay mechanics, and even the interface straight from Drug Dealer Simulator. They saw it as more than just inspiration. What happens next isn’t clear yet. But one thing’s obvious: the legal side of the story is only just beginning.

This was only a preliminary investigation. Movie Games S.A. intends to conduct a more thorough review, including legal consultations based on Australian law, as the studio behind Schedule 1, TVGS, is based in Australia. At this stage, it is unclear whether the deeper review will lead to any formal charges.

The developers behind Schedule 1 are still releasing updates, despite everything going on. Gamers haven’t turned away — the title is holding strong. In fact, stats show that it even beat The Witcher 3’s peak player numbers. By 3 April 2025, sales were already close to 3 million copies.

Legal fights over game copyrights aren’t exactly rare, but they’re usually messy. There’s a lot of grey area. Even so, some studios do come out on top. A recent example is The Pokémon Company, which won a case over the game Pocket Monster: Remake.

Another recent case occurred in the iGaming industry. The unprecedented success of virtual gambling entertainment is largely due to the rise of a new generation of games — crash-style titles that have attracted millions of new users. Some of these games, such as Lucky Jet, have become especially popular. To better understand this trend, our team analyzed search query data and consulted several niche review platforms. Experts from the gaming site lucky-jet-game.com.in confirmed that Lucky Jet is available in hundreds of modern online casinos. Other popular titles include Avitrix and Jet-X.

However, the most well-known game in this genre is Aviator. Recently, its creators won a lawsuit against Spribe and Adjarabet for copyright infringement. According to experts, such legal actions are rare in the iGaming industry, where intellectual property rights are often overlooked.

It’s not always clear whether something violates copyright law or is simply an homage. Some cases may result from parallel thinking — after all, many developers may come up with similar ideas independently. With so many people involved in game development today, it’s not surprising that certain features or concepts overlap. It remains to be seen how the Schedule 1 investigation will unfold. However, for Movie Games S.A., the situation appears suspicious, and the studio is determined to pursue the matter further.

Also read: What Trends Could Reshape the Video Game Industry in 2025.