The producer of Palworld and CEO of developer Pocketpair, Takuro Mizobe, has reiterated that the Palworld developers “have absolutely no intention of infringing upon the intellectual property of other companies.”
Right from Palworld’s initial reveal, it was dubbed by the internet as 'Pokémon with guns,’ and it’s not hard to see why. Like Pokémon, players are able to capture cute and quirky creatures (known in Palworld as ‘Pals’). Monster-collecting mechanics in games always tend to lead to Pokémon comparisons, but, particularly since Palworld’s launch, some people have criticized the designs of certain Pals, and have pointed out similarities to existing Pokémon designs.
In a new interview with Automaton, Mizobe, who as well as serving as the game’s producer also “dabbled somewhat in direction,” was asked about concerns raised by prospective players who’d questioned if the game would even be able to launch. The outlet pointed out that the interview had been conducted on January 15, a few days prior to Palworld’s early-access release.
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Mizobe acknowledged that he was “aware that the Pokémon series is the overwhelming leader in the monster-taming/collection genre,” and added that “Pokémon is so good that I’m afraid to even try to compare it to Palworld.” However, he said that the idea for Palworld originated from wanting to add monster-collecting mechanics to the open-world survival-crafting genre.
“Although we did reference the Pokémon series as a great predecessor of its genre, Palworld feels completely different as a game, which I think people will realize as soon as they play it,” Mizobe stated. “I would even say that Palworld is a lot more similar to Ark: Survival Evolved in terms of game mechanics.
“‘Will it be able to launch’ feels like a bit of an extreme question, but we make our games very seriously, and we have absolutely no intention of infringing upon the intellectual property of other companies,” he continued. “We have undergone legal reviews, and at this moment, there have been no specific actions taken by other companies. I know there have been all kinds of rumors floating about on the internet, but please rest assured and give our game a chance.”
Yesterday, Mizobe tweeted out asking that people stop sending threats and abuse to Palworld’s artists, stating that some had even received death threats.
If you’re on the lookout for more games to play, be sure to check out our recommendations for the best open-world games on PC, as well as the best survival games.
