"We Intend To Investigate": Pokemon Has Officially Responded to the Palworld Controversy
It’s no secret that Palworld has gained hype both for its fun survival gameplay and for the controversy surrounding Pal designs. It looks like The Pokémon Company has been watching the drama unfold after all. Here’s what they had to say.
Palworld Early Access Roadmap Reveals New Content and Fixes For 2024
The Pokémon Company Addresses Palworld Controversy
It looks like The Pokémon Company may be taking legal action against Palworld but it’s still too early to know.
In an official statement on its corporate site, the company said that it has received “many inquiries” regarding Pocketpair’s survival game (although it didn’t mention it by name, just by release date).
Said Pokémon: “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.”
The Pokémon Company kept it short and has said nothing else regarding Palworld just yet.
Is Palworld Guilty of Copying Pokémon Designs?
There is currently no solid proof that Pocketpair has purposefully used designs from Pokémon.
The CEO of Pocketpair has been accused of maybe even using AI to rip off the designs, but this is based largely on a thoughtful tweet from 2021 where he discussed how you could use AI to create ‘mon inspired designs. He never said he actually went through with it anywhere.
AIが進化し過ぎてて、どっちがポケモンかもう分からない。。。
— Takuro Mizobe | Palworld (@urokuta_ja) December 15, 2021
←左 AIが生成したポケモン風モンスター
→右 本物のポケモン（イルミーゼ、ミノマダム、ハリーセン、カリキリ） pic.twitter.com/PL6ikWhlFU
Regardless of the controversy, Palworld has amassed 8 million copies sold in under 6 days and set records by surpassing Counter-Strike in peak concurrent players on Steam.
Olivia is a long-time esports journalist and editor who covers just about every game but has a deep love for the FGC. Her goal is to find community-driven stories that bring a new perspective to the esports scene. In the past, she has worked for Team Liquid, Rogue, Inven Global, Dot Esports, Upcomer, and more. Outside of esports, Olivia enjoys Kirby, Pokemon TCG, Fallout, and writing science fiction. She can be found trying out new foods, traveling, or hanging out with her two orange cats. Fun fact: Olivia can do some video game and cartoon impressions!