Google has removed hundreds of Android clones of Swing Copters, the follow up from the creator of smash-hit game Flappy Bird, from the Play Store.

Swing Copters from .Gears, the studio operated by Vietnam-based Dong Nguyen, appeared on Thursday but was beaten to the Google Play Store by hundreds of clones of the game, which were based on a short video showing how it would work that was posted to YouTube on Monday.

The clones forced the official version of Swing Copters down into 63rd in a search for “Swing Copters” on the Google Play Store, with reviews of some clones citing bugs and few showing any realisation that what they were playing were clones and not the genuine article.

Failed to enter the top 300

Now Google has removed all the clones, including those that purported to be developed by Dong Nguyen, propelling the official game to the top of the search rankings for “Swing Copters”. The game has now been downloaded between 10,000 and 50,000 times according to the store’s download count.

The game was released for Apple’s iPhone on the same day and reached number 45 in the top games rankings for iOS in the UK within seven hours, according to data from app market analyst App Annie.

Swing Copters is sitting in seventh place in the top free apps chart for the iPhone in the UK. But hasn’t made it into the top 300 free apps or games on Google Play in the UK, which is likely because of the numerous clones being downloaded before the official game.

“We remove applications that violate our policies, such as apps that are illegal or that promote hate speech,” said a Google spokesman in a statement sent to the Guardian. “We don’t comment on individual applications.”

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