Anti-clone discovery: how RIIP protects original games
Anti-clone discovery algorithmically demotes games that copy another and blocks them from outbidding the original for sponsored placement. Here's how RIIP detects clones and keeps discovery fair to creators.
Anti-clone discovery is a ranking policy that detects games copying another game and demotes them — and, critically, blocks a clone from buying a sponsored placement above the original it copied. On a platform where cloning a successful game is easy and common, this is what keeps discovery fair to the creators who did the original work.
Why cloning breaks discovery
When a hit game appears, clones follow within days: same mechanics, similar name, thinner execution. If discovery ranks on size or lets anyone buy their way to the top, clones siphon players and ad budget away from the original. The original creator is punished for succeeding, and players get a worse copy. Left unchecked, it teaches the whole ecosystem that copying pays better than creating.
How RIIP dampens clones
- →Similarity detection compares mechanics, metadata, and naming against known originals to flag likely clones.
- →Flagged clones are algorithmically demoted in ranking — they lose the signal advantage they were trying to borrow.
- →The integrity rule: a clone can never buy a sponsored discovery slot above the original it copies, no matter its budget.
- →Decisions are reviewable by the operator, so dampening is accountable rather than a black box.
What this means for creators and advertisers
For original studios, it means your audience and your ad spend are protected — you can run sponsored placements knowing a copycat can't outbid you on your own game. For honest advertisers, it means the auction is fair. For players, it means the version you find is the real one.
Clones are dampened and can never buy a slot over the original. Creating has to pay better than copying, or discovery is just a marketplace for theft.
Anti-clone integrity is one half of quality-first discovery; ranking on retention rather than size is the other. Together they make it possible for a small original to out-rank a large incumbent — and to stay there.