While the Pokémon Company doesn’t make any mentions of the survival / monster capture game Palworld, it would be an understatement to say that they wouldn’t know about it seeing as how quickly Palworld has become the biggest & most played game of January 2024 with selling over 8 million on Steam alone in only 6 days of release.
Since the game release, Palworld has under a few controversies; with the main one being how close the monsters, known in the game as Pals, have very close similarities and looks to those of the Pokémon franchise.
“We have received many inquiries regarding another company’s game released in January 2024,” The Pokémon Company wrote. “We have not granted any permission for the use of Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game. We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon. We will continue to cherish and nurture each and every Pokémon and its world, and work to bring the world together through Pokémon in the future.”
Palworld developer Pocketpair has insisted, before this statement release, that its game is much closer to those like Ark: Survival Evolved and Valheim than Pokémon. Additionally, the team revealed that alongside all of the feedback and criticisms, it has been receiving death threats ever since the game went live on January 19.
In an interview with Automaton, Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe shared the team cleared legal reviewing and there had been no action taken against the company for infringement.
“We make our games very seriously, and we have absolutely no intention of infringing upon the intellectual property of other companies,” Mizobe said.
The Pokémon Company has already started taking action against modders who have replaced Palworld’s Pals with Pokémon, and Nexus Mods has even said it won’t host Pokémon mods for Palworld out of fear from Nintendo’s legal team.
Palworld is available now on PC (via Steam), Xbox Series S/X, & Game Pass.
Source: The Pokémon Company, IGN
