With 7 million copies sold in about five days, Japanese videogame Palworld emerged as the first big surprise in gaming in 2024. The game development company Pocket Pair released the game on Steam and Xbox Game Pass on January 19th. The game is often described as “Pokémon with guns,” as it combines the charm of capturing and befriending strange creatures, known as Pals, with survival and combat elements, including big and aggressive firearms.
The striking similarities between Palworld characters and Pokèmon have stirred an ongoing controversy about potential copyright infringement. Critics and gamers have also noted similarities to other well-known survival and adventure games.
In a statement that doesn’t name the developer directly, the Pokèmon Company said they “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. We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon.”
The Pocket Pair founder chimed in on the topic, saying his company checked the game against potential copyright infringement before release and that Palworld should be in the clear. Some gamers have also suggested that characters and other assets in the game might have been generated using artificial intelligence, but Pocket Pair has categorically refused this accusation.
Despite these controversies, or perhaps because of them, Palworld has garnered explosive attention and quickly reached a commercial success that’s totally unexpected for a title coming from a small and inexperienced development house. Looking at the positives, though, it’s not just all about controversy marketing: gamers love Palworld also because of engaging gameplay that blends various popular genres and appeals to a broad range of players.
Furthermore, from a game design perspective, Palworld is important as it challenges conventional genre boundaries, combining elements of creature collection and survival games in a novel way. But yeah, it all still looks like Pokèmon with guns.