The Pokémon Company has released a statement promising to “investigate” any and all titles that infringe on their intellectual property rights following the release of Palworld earlier this month.
Developed by Pocketpair, Palworld tasks players with using a variety of creatures known as Pals to build, fight or collect.
Since it was announced, the survival game has been compared to Pokémon with creators telling NME: “We were surprised by the comparisons to be honest, especially those labeling it as ‘Pokémon with guns’. Pokémon definitely inspired us, but Palworld is far more action-orientated in comparison.”
They went on to say they were more inspired by the likes of Rust, Minecraft and ARK: Survival Evolved.
Earlier this week, an unofficial Pokémon mod was revealed for Palworld but footage was quickly taken down due to a Nintendo copyright strike. Now The Pokemon Company has released a statement.
Titled “Inquiries Regarding Other Companies’ Games”, the statement reads: “We have received many inquiries regarding another company’s game released in January 2024. We have not granted any permission for the use of Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game.”
