Pokémon Says It Will Look Into Palworld

The Pokémon Company will look into fans' allegations that Pocketpair's new survival game Palworld has plagiarized its flagship game.

Since its January 19 release, Palworld has become a viral game, selling over eight million copies in just five days. 

According to the official statement released today, the Pokémon Company intends "to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon." 

While the media giant did not explicitly mention Palworld, the statement was released amid the survival game's meteoric rise and claims that Palworld Pals were too similar to select Pokémon designs.

"Palworld plagiarized Pokemon, most of the pals look almost exactly like pokemon, BELIEVE ME!"

*Proceeds to pull many examples that require the longest fucking reach in existence* https://t.co/r6bmXrLhRW

— Nyxll Arnana (@Nyxll_Arnana) January 23, 2024

"We have not granted any permission for the use of Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game," The Pokémon Company wrote.

Pokémon remains to be the most profitable media franchise of all time, grossing over $92 billion since it was created in 1996.

Palworld Creator Addresses Concerns

Before Pokémon released its statement, Pocketpair addressed the growing concerns of potential plagiarism by insisting that the game is more similar to Ark Survival Evolved and Vanaheim.

Notably, Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe mentioned in an interview that the company had cleared legal reviewing, and that it makes its games "very seriously."

"[W]e have absolutely no intention of infringing upon the intellectual property of other companies," he added.

Despite this, several Pocketpair employees reported to receiving death threats since the game was released.

Frantically working through all my DMs and emails!
I promise! 😓

...However, you'll excuse me if I skip over the death threats, threats to the company and massively outlandish claims...

If you're capable of writing like an actual human being though, I'll reply asap! 🙇‍♀️

— Bucky | Palworld & Craftopia (@Bucky_cm) January 21, 2024

Meanwhile, gamers who created a mod replacing Palworld Pals with Pokémon characters are taking down their content in fear of legal repercussions from Nintendo.