Takuro Mizobe, the CEO of Palworld developer PocketPair, has responded to claims of plagiarism and ai generated artwork in its Pokémon-like survival game.
Selling over five million copies over the weekend, Palworld has proven extremely popular. However, fans of Nintendo’s popular monster collecting RPG series have criticised the game for ripping off designs from the franchise.
Comparisons of Palworld and Pokemon have even led fans to create a Palworld Pokémon mod that merges the two series. Alongside bringing some of the most popular monsters into the game, players can even take the role of a gun toting Ash Ketchum and fight Team Rocket.
Via VGC, Mizobe revealed that the team has been receiving countless death threats from Pokémon fans over the claims of plagiarism and AI art.
“We are currently receiving abusive and defamatory comments against our artists, in addition to tweets that appear to be death threats,” the CEO said.
Mizobe told fans that he should be the one they direct threats at, not the artists working at the company.
“While we have received various opinions about Palworld, it is important to note that the supervision of all materials related to Palworld is conducted by a team, including myself,” they continued. “I bear the responsibility for the produced materials. I would appreciate it if these comments towards artists involved in Palworld would cease.”
Since its release, Palworld has been criticised as a rip-off, from catching Pals with Pal Spheres to its “Paldeck”, a copy of the pre-existing Pokédex mechanic. However, more players are concerned over the similarities of Palworld’s monsters compared to existing Pokémon.
While Palworld’s gameplay is very different with no turn-based battles and even the ability to actively fight creatures yourself, it does follow the same Breath of the Wild appeal as Pokémon Legends: Arceus. This includes allowing you to craft a glider and even riding pals.
Palworld is currently available on PC and Xbox, either for a fee or via Xbox Game Pass. There’s currently no Palworld PlayStation or Palworld Nintendo Switch port available to play.