3 Clones Better Than the Original Games They Copied

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It’s common for video game companies to copy successful ideas. When a new game introduces a unique feature or innovative gameplay, others quickly try to replicate it. These copycat games are often called clones, and there are actually a lot more of them than you might think. Remember the surge of games that appeared after Flappy Bird became popular—there were hundreds, possibly thousands! This also happens with big, expensive games. When a game is a huge hit, other companies will try to create something similar. Occasionally, a clone will not only copy the original but actually be even better. Here are three examples of that happening.

1) Crash Team Racing

I remember when Mario Kart first came out – it wasn’t the very first racing game of its kind, but it totally blew everything else away! It was a huge hit, and a bunch of copycats tried to follow in its tire tracks, but none of them quite measured up to Nintendo’s fantastic game. Then Crash Team Racing came along in 1999, and it took the Mario Kart formula and really turned it up a notch with faster speeds and a more exciting feel. It wasn’t groundbreakingly original, but honestly, who cared? It’s still one of the best kart racers from the 90s, and a lot of fans – myself included – actually think it’s even better than the original Mario Kart!

2) Fortnite

While Fortnite is currently the most popular battle royale game, it wasn’t the first. That title actually belongs to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), which dominated the genre when it launched in 2017. Back then, Fortnite was a very different game, focused on building and defending forts against computer-controlled enemies. Seeing PUBG’s success, Fortnite’s creator, Epic Games, added its own battle royale mode. It was a huge hit, and now Fortnite has far more players than PUBG.

3) Call of Duty

When Call of Duty launched in 2003, it joined a number of other first-person shooter games set during World War II. However, it quickly became the most popular. While the series later expanded with titles like Black Ops and Modern Warfare, it originally focused heavily on WWII. Interestingly, Call of Duty was created by some of the same developers who worked on the Medal of Honor: Allied Assault series. If you’re not familiar with the original Medal of Honor games, it’s because Call of Duty surpassed them in popularity years ago. Call of Duty took the core ideas, improved upon them, and created a hugely successful franchise, selling over 500 million copies worldwide.

What’s your pick for the best character who’s a copy or duplicate of another? Share your thoughts in the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-02-16 18:14