The Pokémon Company has finally made an official statement regarding Palworld. They stated, “We intend to investigate and take appropriate action to address any act that infringes on the intellectual property rights related to Pokémon.” The company also mentioned that they have received numerous requests regarding a game from another company released in January 2024. They clarified that no authorization has been granted for the use of Pokémon intellectual property or assets in this game. The company expressed its intention to investigate and take appropriate measures to remedy any infringement of the intellectual property rights related to Pokémon. They emphasized their commitment to cherish and nurture every Pokémon and its world, and to work towards bringing people together through Pokémon in the future.
Before this statement, the developer of Palworld, Pocketpair, insisted that their game was much closer to titles like Ark Survival Evolved and Valheim than to Pokémon. Mizobe, a representative of Pocketpair, stated, “We take our game development very seriously and have no intention whatsoever to infringe on the intellectual property of other companies.”
The Pokémon Company has already taken action against modders who replaced the creatures in Palworld with real Pokémon. Additionally, Nexus Mods has announced that they will not host Pokémon mods for Palworld due to concerns about Nintendo’s legal team.
*Erwan Lafleuriel is the Editor-in-Chief of IGN France. A video game enthusiast for 40 years, he only occasionally takes a break from gaming to lament his defeats on Twitter.*