Palworld developer accused of copying Pokémon says it has “no intention of infringing” intellectual property

Palworld developer PocketPair has said it has “no intention” of being found legally at fault for any similarity between it and any other popular pocket monster franchise.

Speaking to Automaton, PocketPair boss Takuro Mizobe said the game had cleared legal reviews and no action had been taken against the project (thus far).

“We make our games very seriously, and we have absolutely no intention of infringing upon the intellectual property of other companies,” Mizobe said.

Still, Mizobe discussed the Snorlax in the room – Pokémon – and described it as the “overwhelming leader of the monster collection/raising genre” and now a “great predecessor” to Palworld.

The comments come after Pokémon fans spent the weekend arguing on social media over perceived similarities between Palworld’s Pal species and several popular Pokémon. (At one point, “rip-off” was reportedly trending on X in Japan.)

A widely-shared thread of posts on X compares Pals and Pokémon side-by-side, with many familiar species represented.

After Pokémon fans began pointing out similarities they’d seen, Mizobe posted on social media himself, and said that he had seen “slanderous comments” and “death threats” aimed at the game’s artists.

“Currently, we are receiving slanderous comments against our artists, and we are seeing tweets that appear to be death threats,” Mizobe wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“I have received a variety of opinions regarding Palworld, but all productions related to Palworld are supervised by multiple people, including myself, and I am responsible for the production. I would appreciate it if you would refrain from slandering the artists involved in Palworld.”

Potentially more damaging still are the 3D models of Pals and Pokémon now being compared for similarities – and any suggestion that PocketPair used in-game models taken from Nintendo Switch games Pokémon Scarlet and Violet as a point of reference.

Eurogamer has contacted PocketPair, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company for comment.

None of this has stopped Palworld from becoming a huge success, with Steam records broken, over 5m copies sold in just three days, and many more people playing via Xbox Game Pass.