Viral Escape the Walls already has Roblox clones before release

Escape the Walls has not been released yet, but Pandorio Games' viral wall-punching concept has already been followed by several similar experiences on Roblox. Some appeared roughly a day after footage of the upcoming incremental game began spreading across social media.

The original game now has a Steam page and can be wishlisted, although Pandorio Games has not announced a release date. The speed at which Roblox versions appeared shows how quickly a simple viral game idea can be replicated.

Escape the Walls puts players inside enclosed spaces with little more than their fists. Progress comes from repeatedly punching walls, breaking sections apart and clearing rubble until an escape route is created.

Pandorio Games shared footage of the concept in mid-October, and one gameplay post accumulated millions of views within days. The short clip made the core loop easy to understand, which helped it spread quickly while also giving other developers a clear look at how the game worked.

The viral footage was soon followed by Roblox games using a noticeably similar wall-breaking concept. One creator publicly showed their version roughly 25 hours after Pandorio's viral post, while another released a game called Escape the Wall.

That version reportedly adds multiple prison cells, sellable rubble, equipment upgrades, leaderboards, rebirth mechanics and support for up to four players. PC Gamer identified at least seven Escape the Walls-style Roblox experiences by October 19.

The similarities have led to accusations that creators were rushing to capitalize on Pandorio Games' viral idea before the original could launch. Wall-punching simulators and progression games are not entirely new to Roblox, however, which makes the dispute more about the timing and presentation of these newer projects.

The speed of the clones attracted additional attention after some creators openly discussed using generative AI. At least one developer credited Anthropic's Claude while responding to criticism surrounding their Roblox version.

That does not mean every similar game was built with AI or generated automatically. It does show how quickly developers can react to viral ideas when conventional game-development tools are combined with AI-assisted coding.

Pandorio Games has also discussed using AI to accelerate parts of its own development process. The controversy therefore centers less on AI itself and more on how quickly recognizable concepts can now be reproduced.

Pandorio Games launched the official Escape the Walls Steam page on October 18, allowing players to wishlist the game. The listing identifies Pandorio Games as both developer and publisher, with the release date still listed as "Coming soon."

The Roblox versions have therefore reached players before the project that sparked the current attention. Pandorio Games has not announced a price or firm release date for the Steam version.