Palworld lets players capture humans and set them to work

Palword lets players capture NPC humans in a tiny ball – and then sell them on the black market.

Yes, there's an even darker element to Palworld beyond just “Pokémon with guns”. If you thought capturing creatures and squishing them into tiny balls was inhumane, just wait.

In Palworld players meet various human NPCs, some of which can be fought in battle. And, as streamer Coney, found out, they can then be captured.

As you can see in the video below on X, Coney is shocked when a Palsphere is thrown and actually works to capture the human.

“A captured human,” reads the follow-up message. “On Palpargos Island, capturing humans in Palspheres is considered inhumane.”

Once captured, humans can then fight for you or complete chores in your camp – just like Pals. Alternatively, you can sell them on the black market for a lot of materials.

So yeah, human trafficking is a bit taboo, but still shockingly possible in Palworld. Whether that's beyond your moral compass is your choice.

Palworld released last week and has already seen immense success – it's already sold 5m copies and that's despite server issues.

However, Pokémon fans have claimed the designs of the Pals are lazy.