Imitation might be considered flattery, unless you’re a large journalistic publication in which case success seems to hinge on creating clickbait and incendiary content.
We’re likely all aware of the recent craze surrounding Palworld and its indie Japanese creators, PocketPair. Their blend of survival crafting and monster capture has captivated global attention. Palworld surged to become Steam’s second most consistently played title, boasting 2.1 million players.
Within a month of its Steam launch, the game sold over 15 million copies, with an additional ten million coming from Xbox platforms.
Certainly, Palworld faced controversy from Nintendo loyalists who dubbed it a mere Pokemon clone. While the monster capture genre is well-trodden, few have dared to innovate by intertwining such mechanics with an open-world survival crafting game, akin to titles like ARK: Survival Evolved, Valheim and hundred more just like them.
While Palworld lacks uniqueness compared to Nintendo’s stagnant Pokemon franchise, its true innovation lies in its fusion of beloved genres that resonate with audiences.
Given that Palworld offered a blend of favored genres right from the start, it’s only natural that more developers will follow suit, aiming to replicate its lucrative success.
We’ve previously discussed Azur Promilia, the open-world RPG developed by Manjuu, known for Azur Lane.
It seeks to offer players a blend of Genshin Impact’s successful formula along with elements reminiscent of Palworld. Azur Promilia entices players with captivating maidens and features like resource gathering, construction, farming, and creature companionship.
As competition heats up in the gaming landscape, more contenders are set to enter the fray, vying for a slice of the success PocketPair achieved with what could arguably be the standout release of 2024.
Among these contenders is a game from Tencent, developed by the Chinese studio “Tianjin Wumai Technology.” Their upcoming title, “Auroria,” has already made its debut on Valve’s Steam Store with a dedicated page.
The core concept and official in-game screenshots released thus far draw parallels to PocketPair’s Palworld.
Auroria is described as an open-world sandbox game with online co-op play, set on the uncharted blue planet Auroria. Players will embark on exploration while developing their habitats, with a sci-fi twist featuring rocket building and space exploration as primary goals.
The game promises diverse biomes, such as grasslands, dense forests, ice fields, and deserts, each inhabited by unique creatures that can be captured and tamed.
Notably, screenshots suggest players can enlist these creatures to aid in base activities.
Auroria is slated for release on mobile and PC via Steam. Its genre overlaps and visual similarities have sparked comparisons to Palworld on social media. Like Palworld, it boasts open-world multiplayer, survival/crafting mechanics, and creature taming.
Expect vocal Nintendo enthusiasts to raise objections over perceived similarities between the fictional creatures in Auroria and those from Pokemon, citing copyright infringement because as we all know, Nintendo invented everything from rats, dogs to cats and horses.
Interestingly, NetEase Games, a primary competitor of Tencent, is in the process of developing Once Human, an open-world survival game. This game will revolve around capturing and training Deviants, creatures tasked with generating resources and completing various tasks.
That’s just how the game industry is, strike it rich with something and everyone else comes running, hoping to pick through your tailings for any remnants of gold to strike it rich themselves, we can’t exactly bitch and moan about the matter because “everything is a copy” of something else. Genre defining titles like Dark Souls have extensively been overdone by hundreds of other developers whose games continue to attract attention years later.
Amidst the surge of games aiming to emulate Palworld’s success, Takuro Mizobe, CEO of PocketPair, has addressed the situation. On April 16, Mizobe shared a screenshot from Auroria and acknowledged the proliferation of Palworld clones.
He underscored the likelihood of multiple high-budget Chinese clones entering the scene in 2025, observing, “These are remarkable times.”
Takuro Mizobe’s response to the situation truly reveals his character as a person. As a small-time indie developer unexpectedly thrust into the global spotlight by producing a sensation like Palworld, he faces a pivotal choice.
He could choose to react vindictively to others attempting to replicate his success, or he could opt to bask in the realization that he’s sparked a trend. It’s a trend that many other developers seek to fulfill, catering to consumers who evidently can’t get enough of this genre blend.
He has indeed opted for the latter approach. There’s no hint of malice in his words; he isn’t leveling accusations at anyone. Instead, he’s simply marveling at the fact that other developers are creating clones of his game, some with significantly larger budgets.
This development ultimately benefits consumers, who will soon have more games of Palworld’s nature to enjoy. These games are likely to offer greater polish and content upon launch, enhancing the overall gaming experience.
Bucky, the global community manager for Pocketpair, echoed similar sentiments. In another tweet, this time in English, he expressed his astonishment at the rapid pace with which other companies are aiming to develop their own versions of the genre mix, underscoring their larger budgets in comparison to Pocketpair’s.
He predicts that 2025 will see a surge in Palworld and Helldiver clones, many of which are likely to be mobile-oriented due to cost considerations and monetization strategies. Bucky expressed curiosity about the unique twists or features these games will introduce to appeal to audiences.
He joked that the real question was who would be the first company to make a Palworld clone where the objective is to capture, tame and battle cute girls instead of monsters, which is just a lovely idea that will likely be fulfilled sometime in the near future.
But of course, we all know the answer to this question, Nintendo did it first.
But of course, some people opted to take the words of Takuro Mizobe out of context, I mean the man specifically called these games a CLONE so obviously, he must be seething.
Palworld is literally a “clone” itself right, a unique spin on a stagnate formula that merely combines multiple genres together which is the very reason as to why Eurogamer churned out a negative review piece on the game, with the reviewer being a blatant Pokemon fanatic, though I’m sure he wasn’t biased in the least.
We can’t forget the time where game developers from Naughty Dog were outraged, proclaiming that Palworld was “cheating” somehow, because consumers would rather play it than their woke infested interactive movies. And Dead by Daylight’s Chief of Staff called the game “boring“
I see his perspective. Palworld involves a significant amount of “building” which can be time-consuming. However, this is the exact same as dismissing RPGs as “boring” because of the extensive traveling involved is akin to oversimplifying their essence.
Both scenarios involve a core concept that requires investment and engagement over time, though I wouldn’t expect the chief of a bland 4v1 multiplayer focused survival horror game to understand the concept.
Especially one that’s riddled with bugs, microtransactions and transgender propaganda.
IGN, one of the largest and most “reputable” publications, churned out an article specifically proclaiming that PocketPair’s CEO has outright ACCUSED others of making clones of Palworld, mentioning the fact that Palworld itself was accused of being a Pokemon clone, further adding emphasis to their supposed hypocrisy.
PocketPair’s CEO, Takuro Mizobe, responded to IGN’s deliberate quote mining by quoting their article in a follow-up tweet. Mizobe clarified that accusing someone implies wrongdoing, and given his previous comments, he made no negative or inflammatory remarks toward Tencent or other developers creating games akin to Palworld.
While Mizobe did acknowledge them as clones, as they are, he never directed any malicious intent towards them or their products. In response to IGN, he reiterated that he does not believe that Tencent are doing anything wrong.
He takes pride in other companies drawing inspiration from his work, noting that this is a common practice in the industry. Borrowing ideas and genres from successful and admired titles is a longstanding tradition.
I’ve already pointed out FromSoftware’s establishment of the “Soulslike” formula, which itself has a more action focused sub-genre dubbed “Soulsborne.”
But it’s pretty evident at this point that mainstream journalists exist only to push a particular narrative, with IGN of note continually reminding everyone about the dwindling player count drops Palworld sustained since its launch and peak, because that’s just how the world goes.
Players send days if not weeks playing a particular product, have completed all there really is to the game and simply move on with their lives. Only in certain circumstances do player count drops actually matter, such as when it becomes obvious that your live service game is a tremendous failure, like Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League.
The controversy surrounding Sweet Baby Inc’s actions, where an employee attempted to launch a harassment campaign against a gamer for criticizing games associated with the divisive ESG / DEI consultancy, backfired spectacularly.
It shed light on ongoing media collusion and even managed to get Homeland Security involved, a media collusion amongst the game industry has been an issue that has persisted since the original GamerGate a decade prior.
Modern journalists prioritize pushing their own narrative over profit and integrity, with outlets like Kotaku facing financial struggles. G/O Media’s decision to discontinue disgraceful platforms such as Deadspin, who tried to smear a small boy as being racist for wearing team colors at an NFL game further undermines Kotaku’s future.
Kotaku relies heavily on producing rage-bait content for its revenue, articles that are flat out untrue or simply enrages casual audiences to drive traffic, engagement and revenue.
I should know, given how I operate this very website. The profession of activists who are disguised as journalists aren’t sustainable, their only source of revenue stems from the propaganda they spew.
G/O Media wanted Kotaku writers to start producing game guides, not as a means of actually course correcting but rather so their staff members would quit voluntarily at the prospect of having to write 50 articles on a weekly basis combined.
Their editor in chief, Jen Glennon ran away like a little bitch at the thought of having to actually do actual goddamn work, mission accomplished I suppose because that’s one less severance G/O will have to pay when Kotaku goes under for good.
You think you hate journalists enough but the truth is you don’t.
IGN and even Insider-Gaming are attempting to tarnish the reputation of a sincere indie developer from Japan. This comes amidst a backdrop of evident racial prejudice against the Japanese in Western media and social platforms for years. The persistent stereotype portraying the Japanese solely as sex-obsessed pedophiles due to the existence of anime will never go away.
This is simply deceitful behavior from organizations deliberately misquoting to incite outrage and advance their own agenda. It’s likely a ploy to satisfy their backers who provide early access, reviews, and other perks to their products, looking at you Nintendo.
Sadly, it’s par for the course from the same group that demanded a rewrite of Resident Evil 5 citing racism. Their argument stemmed from the portrayal of Africans as villains in a game set in Africa. Go figure, players can choose to play as either a White man or a Black woman, both of whom must combat various enemies, including Africans to prevent a bioweapon attack being launched in Africa.
I for one just cannot wait for Azur Promilia. Fuck IGN.
