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The new “open-world survival and crafting game” Palworld is breaking records, but part of its success has seemingly been fueled by a lot of heated debate and comparisons online.
One major talking point has been the game’s monster designs, with accusations and claims it’s taken more than just “inspiration” from the Pokémon series. It’s admittedly raised questions about what The Pokémon Company may be thinking about this early access title’s overnight success, and while there’s been no official response, we’ve now got the next best thing.
Speaking to Game File, the former head of The Pokémon Company’s legal team Don McGowan, who was the Chief Legal Officer from 2008 to 2020, has chimed in on the conversation – admitting he’s “surprised” Palworld even got this far. Here’s exactly what he had to say:
“This looks like the usual ripoff nonsense that I would see a thousand times a year when I was Chief Legal Officer of Pokémon. I’m just surprised it got this far.”
Beyond Pokémon, Palworld has also drawn comparisons to games like Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Ark: Survival Evolved, and Valheim. Various other monster-catching series have been caught up in the debate and some other games by Palworld developer Pocketpair have also been dragged into the discussion including Craftopia and Never Grave.
This latest comment follows a statement from Pocketpair CEO and Palworld director Takuro Mizobe who responded to plagiarism accusations – defending the game’s materials and claiming certain messages directed at the team had gone too far, with the game’s artists supposedly receiving online abuse and death threats. Conversation about the state of the Pokémon series has also been reignited.
Palworld has now sold more than five million copies worldwide in three days and currently has a “very positive” rating on Steam. You can learn more about this game on our sibling site Pure Xbox, with the team mentioning how it has “thoroughly enjoyed” the experience so far.
What do you make of McGowan’s thoughts about Palworld? Have you tried out the game yourself? Leave a comment below.