In a statement issued on January 25th, 2024, The Pokémon Company addressed the matter regarding the game ‘Palworld,’ although without directly mentioning its name.
The statement emphasized that the company does not authorize the use of the Pokemon IP in this game and stated its intention to investigate any potential infringement of IP rights related to Pokémon.
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.
Palworld has taken the world by storm, for such a small indie development studio to find such sheer success and infamy is truly a feel good moment for one who cherishes the gaming industry even as it’s on its very last legs.
The concept of Palworld can be considered “lazy” or unoriginal, that much is a given considering how most open-world survival crafting games essentially look and feel somewhat the same. Consumers continually keep buying such games because they’re often enough an enjoyable grind-fest time waster, especially if such games come with multiplayer support so you can play with friends.
Palworld is a little bit different from the usual survival crafting trope, it incorporates elements from the world’s largest intellectual property, I am of course speaking about Pokemon.
Because Palworld features elements from other monster-capture titles in the vain of capturing and leveraging monsters or “pals” to aid your survival and or do battle with other “pals”.
Which is why the game is unanimous with controversy of late, the game has managed to sell over eight million copies in less than six days on Steam alone and has surpassed two million concurrent players on Steam simultaneously since the last time we’ve spoken of Palworld which now firmly holds the second position for all-time concurrent players overtaking Valve’s own Counter-Strike 2 / Global Offensive which peaked at just 1.818 million players nine months ago.
Salty fanboys who seemingly cannot comprehend the fact that there just so happen to be other games that incorporate monster capturing mechanics are successful, simply because they feel threatened that another entity has come in and ruined Nintendo’s thunder, so they just go ahead and slander Palworld by proclaiming it to be a soulless clone that blatantly uses AI generated assets or outright rips its assets from Pokemon as a whole.
Both of which haven’t been proven mind you, their tears are only fueling Palworld’s success, but their pleas haven’t gone unnoticed by TPC.
The statement made by The Pokemon Company is more or less that of a hall monitor stance, they are aware of the games existence but they aren’t really going to do a damn thing about it, despite what other individuals might try and tell you otherwise.
There is no proof to the contrary that Palworld incorporates stolen assets from Nintendo’s intellectual property, The Pokemon Company proclaims that they are investigating into the matter and will take appropriate action, however that is more or less a guarantee for individuals who otherwise make game modifications for Palworld that features Pokemon themes / characters.
Despite the angers and cries from upset Pokemon fanatics, it’s not illegal to simply produce a game based upon the same genre or features similar mechanics. No company or entity can claim exclusive ownership of an entire game type or genre.
However, they can hold rights to very specific elements, providing that they are highly specific and non-generic. For instance, elements like driving mechanics, movement mechanics, or a crime meter (akin to an alertness meter) cannot be monopolized through copyright.
An example of a specific feature that was owned is Mega Man Battle Network’s Navi Customizer system.
To infringe on Capcom’s ownership, it must specifically replicate the NaviCust and adhere to all associated rules. This is how Shanghai.EXE avoided initial DMCA issues.
The way trademark and copyright laws function, regarding Palworld there hasn’t been any actionable offense. The allegations of theft lack proper evidence, and the claims regarding AI usage also lack substantial proof.
At best, it appears they may have traced over certain elements and made slight alterations, which isn’t illegal, so Nintendo/The Pokémon Company can’t take legal action even if they really wanted to.
The only potential grounds for a lawsuit would be if they were found to be using ripped assets from Pokémon games in their own game. Utilizing ripped assets in a commercial project is illegal. However, no one has been able to definitively prove this allegation.
While it may be deemed lazy and a rip-off, it doesn’t constitute illegality.
Again, Nintendo issued a formal apology regarding the broken pile of shit that was Pokemon Scarlet / Violet, despite being the highest and fastest franchise selling entry to date, the game lacked substance and felt rushed. Nintendo fessed up a statement that proclaimed that they “would work on improvements” with future installments and would “take feedback seriously” but I highly doubt that.
The statement felt more like a corporate “shut the fuck up” letter than anything else, which essentially sums up its tone. Rapid fanboys have been incessantly flooding social media with their unfounded accusations and slander against Palworld, claiming it stole assets that they cannot substantiate.
Nintendo is “aware” of the game and will “take action” only when they can actually do so with legal merit, of which at this point in time they haven’t even got the slimmest fraction of tangible evidence.
