Google Play hammers many Swing Copters clones right off the app market

If you released a Swing Copters clone on Google Play yesterday, it’s probably not available to download anymore.

Google cleaned up its Android app store today by eliminating a ton of clones that used Swing Copters name or art assets (as Android OS newsite Phandroid first spotted). Flappy Bird developer Dong Nguyen released his latest game on iOS and Android yesterday, and opportunist developers were ready to try to steal some of flying game’s attention with apps that featured an identical name and lifted art. Today, when you search for Swing Copters on the Play store, Nguyen’s game pops up first and it’s the only one with that name. This is likely part of Google’s wider efforts to create a better experience on its app market for both developers as well as uses who don’t want to accidentally download something inauthentic.