The Pokemon Company, jointly owned by Nintendo, issued an official statement regarding Palworld (unofficially described as Pokemon with Guns). The company said that it had not given any permission to “another company’s game released in January 2024.” The company’s statement did not mentioned or noted Palworld in particular, but the message it wrote clearly points out the newly launched survival game which bears a similar resemblance to Pokemon.
Pocket Pair’s survival craft game, Palworld which released last week has created a sensation in the gaming industry. The game has topped the Steam’s charts in terms of sales and player count. However, several players started to notice many similarities between this game and Pokemon. After a week of its release, the company made an official statement regarding Palworld and now it is making a buzz in the community as the game is really making waves in the industry.
Pokemon Company Intends to Investigate Palworld, Issues a Public Statement Without Taking its Name
The official statement from the Pokemon Company reads, “We have received many inquiries regarding another company’s game released in January 2024,” The Pokemon Company stated. “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 has sold over 8 million copies in less than 6 days!
Thank you very much!!
As stated previously, we continue to work at full-speed on addressing bugs and issues!
Thanks for your support!#Pocketpair pic.twitter.com/4PLB1J4CYH— Palworld (@Palworld_EN) January 25, 2024
Before making this statement, the Palworld developer, Pocketpair, emphasized that its game closely aligns with titles like Ark Survival Evolved and Vanaheim rather than Pokemon. Palworld’s massive success had its struggles too, the team disclosed that they’ve been facing death threats since the game’s launch on January 19.
In an interview with Automaton, Pocketpair’s CEO, Takuro Mizobe, conveyed that the team underwent legal scrutiny, and no legal actions have been taken against the company for any infringement.
Mizobe stated, “We approach game development with utmost seriousness, and we unequivocally have no intentions of infringing upon the intellectual property of other companies.”
The Pokemon Company has initiated actions against modders who replaced Palworld’s Pals with Pokemon, and Nexus Mods has decided not to host Pokemon mods for Palworld due to concerns about potential legal actions from Nintendo’s legal team.
Palworld was launched on January 19, 2024 for PC, Steam, Xbox Series X/S and is now topping the steam’s charts. The game has reached an incredible milestone, with 8 million copies sold just within one week. Moreover, the game is now leading the SteamDB’s charts of Most played games with highest peak count in 24 hours and current player count. It stands second to PUBG in terms of all player count on Steam.
Also Read
