The Pokémon Company has issued a rare statement addressing the smash hit PC and Xbox game Palworld, after claims the latter has directly copied its designs.
In the statement, released this morning via its Japanese websiteThe Pokémon Company said it now intends to “investigate” Palworld for any content it believes may “infringe on intellectual property rights related to Pokémon.”
Earlier this week, fans pointed out not just to the familiar designs of some Palworld creatures, but to the close similarity seen in Palworld's in-game models to Pokémon data in November 2022's Switch games Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet.
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“We have received many inquiries regarding another company's game released in January 2024,” The Pokémon Company wrote in its statement, choosing not to mention Palworld by name.
“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.”
PocketPair previously said it had “no intention” of being found legally at fault for any similarity between it and any other popular pocket monster franchise.
“We make our games absolutely seriously, and we have no intention of infringing upon the intellectual property of other companies,” PocketPair boss Takuro Mizobe said earlier this week, adding that Palworld employees had received death threats from enraged Pokémon fans.
Eurogamer has contacted Palworld developer PocketPair again today for a response to The Pokémon Company's statement. Nintendo declined to comment when contacted.
The Pokémon Company's former chief legal officer Don McGowan, who worked at the company for 12 years, said earlier this week that he was “surprised” Palworld had “got this far.”
Still, The Pokémon Company's legal team looks to have now swung into action, as footage of a work-in-progress Pokémon mod for Palworld was scrubbed from the internet. That move appeared to prompt top hosting site Nexus Mods to state that it would not host any further Palworld Pokémon mods, as doing so would “almost certainly… put us at risk of legal action”.
“The real problem with Palworld is less the derivative approach itself, than it is it's total shamelessness,” our Chris Tapsell wrote this week in Eurogamer's Palworld impressions. “You will feel like you're playing a product designed to be sold, rather than to be played. You will feel like a mark. And you'll be right.”
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