Misleading Unpacking game removed from the Nintendo Switch eShop

We cover the weekly releases on the eShop, and each week, we lament the sheer amount of AI-generated slop and low-effort eWaste flooding the store. These releases often overshadow the truly wonderful and amazing games from talented indie developers and larger studios.

Last month, we noticed—yet again—a popular game name being used by another developer trying to cash in on its success. This time, the target was the award-winning Unpacking, developed here in Australia by local studio Witch Beam. The game, along with a bunch of DLC sharing the exact same premise and a confusingly similar name, appeared on the eShop and even went on sale this week, potentially misleading customers into buying it.

After this author had a whinge raised concerns, the issue gained traction and eventually caught Nintendo’s attention. According to Unpacking‘s Creative Director, they had contacted Nintendo when they first discovered the listing but didn’t initially receive a response.

As of December 17th, the misleading Unpacking game has been removed from the Nintendo Switch eShop, at least as far as we can tell, across all regions.

While this is a positive outcome, the process could have been faster—and, ideally, such situations wouldn’t happen in the first place. We’re hopeful that with the launch of Nintendo’s next console, they’ll implement stricter eShop policies to prevent blatantly misleading and potentially copyright infringing games like this from ever being approved.