Takuro Mizobe

In January, the «Pokemon with guns» game Palworld blew up the internet. Thanks partly to its availability via Steam Early Access and Xbox Game Preview, the game attracted some 25 million players. Developer Pocketpair says that plans to bring the game to other platforms continue apace, and discussions with unnamed platform holders are underway, likely including PlayStation.

Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe has said he’s “proud” to see other studios making games inspired by Palworld.

Palworld, the viral survival game that stirred up controversy (and found plenty of success) on the back of being a Pokémon-a-like - with added guns and factory labour, mind - is now due to become the inspiration for its own generation of clones, according to the head of its developers.

The CEO of Palworld studio Pocketpair has responded to Tencent's latest creature-raising clone, saying: "These are incredible times."

Pocketpair has teased plans to release a big Palworld update this summer, ahead of the game’s Arena mode later in the year.

Pocketpair has teased plans to release a new PvP mode for Palworld.

A major Palworld update has introduced significant issues on Xbox consoles.

Palworld has received a new update which adds the game’s first Raid Boss.

Palworld’s latest update has added the game’s first raid boss, Bellanoir.

Palworld developer Pocketpair will remain a small studio, despite the success of its «Pokémon with guns» survival game.

Pocketpair has said it’s in discussions to bring its smash hit Palworld to additional platforms.

Pocketpair is teasing the launch of Palworld’s first raid and a new Pal in the near future.

Palworld's creator wants the development studio to stay small because "big-budget triple-A games are not for us."

The boss of Palworld developer Pocketpair has said the company can’t handle the massive profits the game has generated.

It’s hard to imagine that we’re going to get a bigger surprise hit in all of 2024 than Palworld. The survival game launched as an early access title in January, and within a month, it had attracted over 25 million players across all platforms. It’s safe to say that developer Pocketpair has very much put itself on the map- but what does it have planned for the future? For instance, is the independent Japanese studio looking to get acquired?

Early Access smash hit Palworld has attracted more than 25 million players within its first month on sale.

Palworld has been played by more than 25 million players since its launch, its studio Pocketpair says.

A member of the Palworld development team has advised fans to try playing other games while they wait for content updates.

As I take my first steps out of a cave, surveying a familiar-looking plateau draped in nothing but a loincloth, I suddenly crash into a bulbous, bleating ball of cotton-wool. Half sheep, half sentient ball of fluff, it lets out a startled meep, curling into a ball and rolling head-first towards me.

Pocket monster smash hit Palworld has been played by over 19 million players.

The Pokemon Company warned on Thursday it plans to investigate reports that the new hit video game "Palworld" violates the intellectual copyright of its iconic franchise. Widely described as "Pokemon with Guns" when it was released last week, the makers of "Palworld" said it sold more than eight million copies in less than six days.

The Pokémon Company has issued a rare statement addressing the smash hit PC and Xbox game Palworld, after claims the latter has directly copied its designs.

The Pokémon Company knows about Palworld and is very much aware that the game is drawing a lot of comparisons with its intellectual property, based on a statement it has published. While the company didn't explicitly name Palworld, it said it's going to investigate a game «released in January 2024» and will «take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to Pokémon.» It also clearly stated that it has «not granted any permission for the use of Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game.»

The Pokemon Company said Thursday it has not granted any permission to “another company,” referring to Palworld-developer Pocketpair, to use Pokemon intellectual property or assets and “intends to investigate and take appropriate measures” against the fast-growing survival game operator.

After plenty of online speculation around whether it would actually happen, The Pokémon Company has released a statement about “another company’s game” released in January 2024. And we can say what we’re all thinking: Palworld.

Popular modding siteNexus Mods, which allows users to share and download mods for thousands of games, has confirmed that it’s “not comfortable” with hosting Pokémon-themed mods for Palworld, Pocketpair’s early-access survival and crafting game.

Palworld director Takuro Mizobe did his homework on the open world survival crafting genre that spawned his Early Access hit.

Only three days after Palworld launched, which fans have been calling 'Pokemon with guns' since it was announced anyway, someone made a mod that turned the player into Ash Ketchum and Pals into 'mons. But less than a day later, it has already been taken down by Nintendo.

Palworld has absolutely exploded in popularity over the weekend, amassing millions of players and generating all kinds of controversies regarding its Pal designs. Having sensed very clear and obvious inspirations in Palworld's Pals, Pokemon fans took to social media and accused developer Pocketpair of everything from laziness to outright plagiarism, scooping up dozens of examples of Pals extremely similar to existing Pokemon.

The director of Pocketpair’s open-world survival-crafting game Palworld has defended the game’s artists, and has asked people to stop sending them abuse and death threats. 

The Palworld developers are reportedly receiving death threats, seemingly over the similarities between the game's creature designs and Pokemon. Palworld combines Minecraft-style survival mechanics with the thrill of monster catching to great effect. The game has been a massive success out of the gate, selling over 5 million copies despite being early access and readily available to play through Xbox Game Pass.

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.