Summary

  • A Japanese talent agency has warned its talent not to discuss Palworld due to concerns about its similarities to Pokemon.
  • Palworld's viral success has outpaced the latest Pokemon release in terms of sales, but Japan still has concerns about the game.
  • Despite controversies and sensitivity surrounding Palworld, the game has been a huge success on Xbox, with over 7 million players since January.

A Japanese entertainment agency has warned its talent about discussing Palworld, out of consideration about its relations with The Pokemon Company. Palworld was released for early access on both Steam and Xbox consoles on January 19. Palworld's viral success saw it even outpacing the latest Pokemon release, Scarlet and Violet, in terms of sales. Despite Palworld's overnight global popularity, it appears Japan still has concerns about this game and its similarities to Pokemon.

Most of the online discussion surrounding Palworld has been about how it was inspired by Pokemon. Some gamers have even accused Palworld of plagiarizing some of its creatures' designs, such as Palworld's Anubis being too similar to the Pokemon Lucario. Likely due to this fine line between inspiration and possible plagiarism, a Japanese agency has asked its talent not to talk about Palworld.

In a statement provided to Tokyo Sports, this agency asked its talent not to discuss Palworld out of consideration for future collaborations with Pokemon. This measure was likely due to Pokemon's popularity in the region, and having one of the agency's most famous talents mentioning Palworld could end up possibly damaging its relations with The Pokemon Company. "We have told our talent not to mention Palworld on social media or in public," said the talent agency source. "This was done out of consideration for the Pokemon side as an agency. This decision was made in consideration of future collaborations, etc."

Talent Agency's Statement Regarding Palworld

We have told our talent not to mention Palworld on social media or in public. This was done out of consideration for the Pokemon side as an agency. This decision was made in consideration of future potential collaborations.

The Pokemon Company released a statement about Palworld a few days after its early access release. While Palworld wasn't directly mentioned in this statement, the mention of "another company's game released in January 2024" makes it pretty likely that it was talking about Palworld. The Pokemon Company stated that it hadn't granted permission for the usage of the Pokemon IP or its assets, and that it would be investigating any potential copyright infringement. Nintendo is also aware of Palworld, though states it wouldn't comment on "individual cases."

Palworld - Petting Lovander

Palworld remains to be a sensitive topic for select companies, especially in its home region. While Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe previously stated that the developers made sure to avoid any copyright infringement with other gaming franchises, Pokemon included, this hasn't stopped the online discourse surrounding Palworld's possible plagiarism.

Outside the controversies that Palworld has garnered, the game has been a huge success Xbox. According to Xbox, Palworld was the biggest third-party launch game on the Game Pass service, having more than 7 million Xbox players since January. With Palworld's runaway success, Xbox announced it would be providing support to Palworld's developers, such as dedicated servers and assisting with optimization.

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Palworld
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Released
January 19, 2024
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
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In this game, you can peacefully live alongside mysterious creatures known as Pals or risk your life to drive off a ruthless poaching syndicate. Pals can be used to fight and breed, or they can be made to work on farms or factories. You can even sell them or eat them.
Survival: In a harsh environment where food is scarce and vicious poachers roam, danger waits around every corner. To survive, you must tread carefully and make difficult choices...even if that means eating your own Pals when the time comes.
Mounts & Exploration: Pals can be mounted to traverse the land, sea and sky—allowing you to traverse all kinds of environment as you explore the world.
Collect all kinds of exciting Pals to fight, farm, build, and work for you in this completely new multiplayer, open world survival and crafting game!

ESRB
T For Teen Due To Violence
Developer(s)
Pocket Pair, Inc.
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Publisher(s)
Pocket Pair, Inc.
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Engine
Unreal Engine 5
Genre(s)
Open-World, Shooter, Survival