Pokémon’s former chief legal officer “surprised” Palworld managed to get this far

The Pokémon Company’s former chief legal officer Don McGowan said he is “surprised” Palworld has “got this far”.

McGowan, who served as the company’s chief legal officer between 2008 and 2020, spoke to GameFile about Pocketpair’s recent release, which has dominated the gaming landscape over the last few days (most recent figures state Palworld has sold 6m copies since its early access launch on Friday).

“This looks like the usual ripoff nonsense that I would see a thousand times a year when I was Chief Legal Officer of Pokémon,” said McGowan. “I’m just surprised it got this far.”

Even well before its launch, Palworld was dubbed “Pokémon with guns” due to its more violent premise of catching cute creatures (including humans). Some players have also accused Pocketpair of copying Pokémon designs.

Pokémon publisher Nintendo said it’s aware of Palworld’s existence, although in fairness you would be surprised if it wasn’t given the amount of chatter the game has generated since the weekend. That said, Bloomberg was told Nintendo would not comment on “individual cases”. The Pokémon Company, meanwhile, has declined to comment on the game.

Eurogamer has also contacted Nintendo for comment.

Elsewhere in Palworld news, a Pokémon mod (a Pokémod, if you will) has been scrubbed from the internet at the copyright holder’s request. Colour me shocked.

“Nintendo has come for me, please leave me in your thoughts and prayers,” the mod’s host shared on social media earlier today.

If you are one of the many currently making your way through Palworld, be sure to check out our guides on the game. Here is one covering the 113 Pals you can catch in Palworld’s early access to get you started.