Palworld: PocketPair CEO complains about Palworld copies

Palworld was not without controversy and was sometimes decried as a brazen Pokémon clone. Bizarrely, the PocketPair CEO is now complaining that Palworld itself is being copied.

Now things are getting really wild! Palworld caused a huge sensation when it launched in early access in January and attracted players in droves, but was also highly controversial. It's not for nothing that the title was initially often referred to as “Pokémon with weapons”; Although the title differs significantly from Pokémon in terms of gameplay, the in-game creatures called Pals are suspiciously based on various Pokémon – and this was controversially discussed. Violations of Pokémon trademark rights were subsequently investigated and the developers even received death threats from die-hard Pokémon fans.

Given all these discussions, it seems a bit bizarre that Palworld itself is now apparently struggling with imitators who have been brought onto the scene by the success of the game. PocketPair CEO Takuro Mizobe has now spoken out on social media and directly attacked the Chinese technology giant Tencent for developing a clumsy and brazen Palworld clone.

“Tencent is already making a Palworld clone! In China, various companies are simultaneously developing mobile clones of Palworld and the budgets are around 10 trillion yen, 10 times that of Palworld,” Mizobe said. In the coming year, all sorts of comparable titles can be expected that want to take advantage of Palworld's success.

Mizobe left it open which Tencent game specifically was supposed to be; he didn't give a name. However, in his tweet he showed a screenshot from the title, which is visually reminiscent of PocketPair's surprise success.

Are you still involved in Palworld or are you waiting for new content? There will still be the promised PvP multiplayer arena in 2024, but before that there will only be a big summer update with a new island, new Pals and more.