Report: Minecraft poser removed from App Store after hitting top 10 chart

Minecraft: Pocket Edition 2 rocketed into the iTunes App Store top 10 yesterday, but there's just one problem: The game is a shameless rip-off that has nothing to do with Mojang's massively popular mobile version of Minecraft.

Members of the Games subreddit first noticed the $10.99 game last night after it climbed to the top of the best sellers chart on iTunes. It landed at number four, according to Redditors, before it was ultimately pushed out. Funnily enough, it sat comfortably behind legitimate Minecraft titles Minecraft: Pocket Edition and Minecraft: Story Mode while it lasted. Later, Apple removed the game, which had been available on the Store for weeks prior, completely from its listings.

Eurogamer checked out the title before it was de-listed completely, and confirmed that the download had nothing to do with Mojang or franchise owner Microsoft. It also, according to them, looked almost nothing like its namesake.

Another oddity about Minecraft: Pocket Edition 2 is the name of its developer. "Scott Cawthorn" is the name given behind the mobile title, and if it sounds familiar, it might be because it's curiously like the name of Five Nights at Freddy's creator Scott Cawthon.

Confusingly, searching for "Scott Cawthorn," who Eurogamer discovered is actually named Viktor Todrov, on the App Store brings up all of Scott Cawthon's games. Redditors claimed that a Five Night's at Freddy's knock-off was also among "Cawthorn's" iOS releases.

It's a strange case, but not unprecedented. The App Store, and Google Play Store, are filled with games that look or sound like more popular, officially branded titles.

A representative for the developer told Eurogamer it was working to remove the app, a move which appears to have been successful. That's not always the case, of course, and there are other games that sound just a little too much like Minecraft still available on the Store.

Fittingly, Minecraft: Pocket Edition is currently listed as the second-most popular game on the App Store.