Meccha Chameleon Devs Have Issued A Warning After Knock-Off Merch Hits Stores
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.
Meccha Chameleon is one of 2026's biggest surprises. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, the game hit seven million sales at a faster pace than Resident Evil Requiem and Crimson Desert, and has now comfortably outsold the likes of Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
While this newfound success has almost certainly been welcomed by the game's two-person development team, it's not been without its problems. The latest of which has just surfaced, with creator Lemorion issuing a warning to fans that any merchandise being sold online is unofficial.
Meccha Chameleon Has Already Got Knock-Off Merchandise, Warns Creator
In a new post on social media, Meccha Chameleon's creator, Lemonrion, warned fans about the influx of knock-off merchandise hitting shelves.
"Currently, official merchandise is not being sold either domestically or internationally," they said. "Any items currently being sold online are all unofficial products." A cursory Google search reveals that plushies, t-shirts, and paintable figures are already being sold on a variety of storefronts, including Amazon.
Unofficial merch isn't the only thing plaguing the team, either. "Additionally, on all social networking platforms, any accounts with 'Meccha Chameleon' in their name are all unofficial, so please do not send any sponsorships or similar offers," Lemorion warned. It's a sad state of affairs when chancers try to capitalize on others' success, especially when it's a small indie team like this one.
Unfortunately, this is a fairly common occurrence, and one we saw impact both large and small games last year. Arguably, 2025's biggest indie title was Schedule 1. Quickly after release, that game received a "chilling atmospheric horror" mobile rip-off. The same happened not long after Silent Hill f's launch, as well. Things were taken a step further with Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, when that game received an adult knock-off called "H*rny Kingdom: C*m Delivery".
Despite the minor setback, Meccha Chameleon is still in a fantastic position. It currently has almost 55,000 reviews on Steam, with a Very Positive rating, and its latest map just launched. The map, set in Egypt, joins Osaka in being added post-launch, bringing the total to six.
Source link

















