Pokemon Company to Investigate Palworld for Potential IP Infringements

It’s been less than a week since Palworld‘s early access release on Steam and Xbox Game Pass, and it’s already sold millions of copies. Not only that, it’s also surpassed two million concurrent players, which is no small feat.

Palworld has also been the center of controversy, being billed as “Pokemon with guns”. It’s also caught the attention of a few AAA developers, and players wondering if Nintendo or the Pokemon Company have anything to say about it. Well, turns out they do.

The Pokemon Company has just put out a statement on their website. While they haven’t explicitly named Palworld, they’ve made it clear that they have not granted any permission for the use of their IP, and will be investigating accordingly. Here’s the full statement:

“We have received many inquiries regarding another company’s game released in January 2024. 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.”

Even before Palworld’s release, there was already chatter about some of the more dubious creature designs. There are a few Pals that bear striking resemblances to existing Pokemon, to the point where you could even get confused between the games. It’s hard to say whether Pocketpair and Palworld will get into any legal trouble over this, but we’ll keep you updated as more info comes our way.

Palworld is now available on PC via Steam and Xbox Game Pass.