Palworld devs are working to resolve server issues ‘ASAP’ as the strange 'Pokémon with guns' game sells over 1 million copies in 8 hours

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 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.»

If you've been paying attention to the Palworld discourse over the past few days, you'll be aware that fans of both Palworld and Pokemon have been embroiled in a debate about whether developer Pocketpair has plagiarized certain designs. Pokemon fans have been gathering new evidence almost every day to support their theories, with one such person having taken the in-game models of Palworld and Pokemon creatures and compared them, discovering that they're actually extremely similar.

The dream continues for independent Japanese developer Pocketpair as Palworld has now sold over seven million units in just five days since its early access launch. The open world survival crafting game with monster collection mechanics had sold one million in eight hours, two in twenty-four, three in forty, five million in three days, and six in four days. What's even more impressive is that, according to Geoff Keighley, these sales are for the Steam version alone. They do not account for sales on the Microsoft Store via PC/Xbox, nor do they account for Game Pass player numbers.

Palworld is getting PvP, raid bosses, and new islands in future updates, developer Pocketpair has said.

When Palworld made its inauspicious debut in a teaser a year or so back, few thought this strange, blatant Pokémon ripoff would be anything but a quickly forgotten oddity. But after its Early Access release last week, the game has broken records and sold millions — reflecting the pent-up demand for a truly modern Pokémon-type game that the franchise’s developers seem unwilling to provide.

The CEO of Palworld developer Pocketpair has stated that the game's artists have received death threats, and has asked that people stop directing messages towards studio staff.

Palworld first captured the attention of gamers (and their internet sphere) when it was revealed back in 2021. While that reveal included details about the survival aspects of the game, including multiplayer, crafting, and farming, viewers honed in on the idea of it being Pokémon but with guns. You can capture Pokémon-like monsters called Pals in special balls (and you can capture humans, too), but it's smart to shoot them or hack at them with an axe first to lower their health. And then, once under your command, you can give them their own guns to use, of course. 

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.

With the Xbox version of smash hit Palworld lagging behind the Steam version in terms of features and updates, developer Pocketpair has moved to explain the situation.

Amid the explosive launch of Palworld, its developers have taken to social media to say they have received death threats.

Palworld players have recently encountered a few problems with the open-world survival creature collector.