Umamusume Is Getting An AI-Generated Steam Knockoff

Horse Racing Sensation Umamusume Gets AI-Generated Knockoff Published Jul 31, 2026, 9:24 AM EDT Sam Woods is TheGamer’s Senior Reporter. He’s been in games journalism since 2020 and has undertaken a variety of roles in that time. These have included roles such as SEO Editor, Managing Editor at DualShockers, and Global Head of Gaming, and he's also been seen on the BBC. He was promoted to the Senior Reporter position in 2025 following a series of high-quality reports and exclusives for TheGamer. Since 2020, Sam has written over 2,500 articles and specializes in telling the stories of the people behind the games. He’s interviewed the biggest game directors, some of the industry’s top talents, told the stories of how indie games came to be, and spoken to players about what really makes them tick. He’s also interviewed some of the world’s biggest musical artists to find out how the medium has inspired their work, and TV and Film actors about their roles in video game adaptations. He even hosted a PAX panel in 2021 and made a documentary in 2024 surrounding the creation of a Disney game. Alongside this, Sam focuses on breaking news. He got the scoop on Perfect Dark’s cancellation, got context around some AI drama, and revealed how Lady Dimitrescu’s actress would love to step back into the character’s giant shoes. These articles have been picked up by the biggest gaming sites, including IGN, GameSpot, and PC Gamer. He also loves to dive into the numbers behind the games. Sam’s journey in games journalism has taken him all over the world. He’s covered Gamescom in Germany, Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, each on more than one occasion. He’s been learning Japanese since 2024 with the intention of identifying and translating Japanese-language news and bringing it to English-language audiences first, something he’s done countless times. Sam’s first review was 2020’s Battletoads reboot, and he’s since reviewed games in The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Pokemon franchises. Umamusume: Pretty Derby was one of 2025's surprise hits. While released in Japan in 2021 and Korea in 2022, the racing/simulation title, in which you race as anthropomorphic horses, was released globally last year. It achieved an estimated three million downloads on Steam, and many more on mobile, built a huge fanbase, and won big at the 2025 edition of The Game Awards. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so with Umamusme building such an audience, it was only a matter of time before other games tried to iterate on its formula and take a share of its market. Step forward: Gallop Diva, "a story-driven horse racing game set in a prestigious girls’ equestrian academy," laden with AI-generated assets. Gallop Diva Is The AI-Slop Version Of Umamusume: Pretty Derby Gallop Diva is definitely trying to ride the coattails of Umamusume: Pretty Derby. While it doesn't feature anthropomorphic horse girls, it features "attractive" anime girls riding horses. Set in a "prestigious girls' equestrian academy", Gallop Diva also seems to take cues from Fire Emblem: Three Houses and similar games with its social elements, where "every conversation may be a trap." In principle, it sounds fine. An interesting mix of a sports title with strong social elements. That's until you look at the footage of the game. It comes with the now oh-so-common AI-generated content disclosure on Steam, which reads: "Some animations and scenes in the game are generated with the assistance of AI," and that may be the understatement of the century. Every part of this game looks like it was created with the most rudimentary AI software and prompts, stuffed with generic AI anime girls. It does not look good. The AI-generated content disclosure isn't the only one on Steam, either. Gallop Diva also comes with a mature content description stating that "Some scenes in the game depict female riders relaxing together in a hot spring, including moments where they are wearing only bath towels." Yes. Although Gallop Diva isn't the most egregious example, knockoffs have become commonplace in games. Earlier this month, indie sensation Meccha Chameleon issued a warning that unofficial merch was flooding stores, and knockoff games have been on the rise too. Last year's indie darling was Schedule 1, a drug-dealing simulator, which quickly received a "chilling atmospheric horror" mobile rip-off. The same happened to Silent Hill f, and things were a little raunchier with Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, which received a very raunchy, very unofficial adult version. Brand Valve Original Release Date September 12, 2003 Original MSRP (USD) N/A Weight N/A Hardware Versions Steam