If you’ve been on the Internet the last few days, you know that Palworld, the “Pokémon with guns” style open-world survival game, has been a smashing success selling over 6 million copies and knocking down record after record on Steam, but it’s also been controversial. Some would say the game isn’t just inspired by Pokémon, it ventures into rip-off territory, something only exacerbated by things like the recently-teased Pokémon mod, leading some to wonder how much Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are willing to put up with.
Well, it seems we have found the line – according to YouTuber who said they were going to upload Palworld Pokémon mod footage, Nintendo has “come for” him. Presumably, that means he got a not-so-friendly letter from the company’s lawyers and that video of the Pokémon mod will not be happening.
Nintendo has come for me, please leave me in your thoughts and prayers pic.twitter.com/HGg65y67Qp
— Toasted (@ToastedShoes) January 23, 2024
Meanwhile, it seems Nexus Mods has begun the process of removing any Pokémon-related Palworld mods.
So yes, actually putting Pokémon in Palworld? That’s definitely a no go. But what about the original game? Could that fall afoul of Nintendo’s lawyers as well? X users have compiled lengthy threads comparing the design similarities between Palworld and Pokémon’s critters, but perhaps most compellingly, X user Byo has compared some monster models from Palworld and Pokémon and found them to be almost identical, with just a few flourishes added or changed. Proportions this similar would be almost impossible to happen by chance, particularly multiple times over with different monsters.
Maybe they’re brothers? #Palworld #Pokemon #Lycanroc model from SV. pic.twitter.com/KnGSozfJGQ
— byo (@byofrog) January 21, 2024
Despite fairly compelling clues that copying may have occurred, it seems Nintendo is holding their lawyers at bay for now. Of course, that may change in the future. Nintendo and The Pokémon Company may just be taking their time as they would want to make sure any potential case against Palworld was a very strong one, as losing it could result in some pretty serious unintended consequences. So, in the meantime, enjoy your Pokémon with guns!
Palworld is available now in early access form on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Anybody out there tried out the game? How are you liking it? Does it stand on its own two feet or do the accusations of plagiarism have merit?
