The Pokémon Company has officially tackled Palworld, which launches on January 18, 2024. We can say that the open world game developed by Pocket Pair has the concept of ‘gunned Pokémon hunting’, which satirizes the Pokémon series.

Pokémon Company investigates Palworld over alleged intellectual property infringement

In a new statement, the Pokémon Company made clear that it was aware of Palworld and was investigating the game’s potential to infringe on Pokémon intellectual property.

Although Palworld was not directly named in the statement, a game released in January 2024 was mentioned and it was emphasized that no permission was given for the use of Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game.

Controversy surrounding Palworld stems from its apparent similarities to the Pokémon series, with Pokémon-like creatures engaging in activities that contrast sharply with the typical family-friendly image of the Pokémon games. The statement from The Pokémon Company states that they will take “appropriate measures” to address any actions that violate the company’s intellectual property rights related to Pokémon.

Despite Pocket Pair’s claims that Palworld has passed legal reviews and has not faced any action by other companies, The Pokémon Company’s statement hints that this may change depending on the results of the investigation.

People complain about The Pokémon Company at this point. Generally, comments are as follows: “If your intellectual property rights are so valuable, we wish you had made a game as entertaining as Palworld so we could play it.”

Selling 7 million copies on Steam in just five days after its release, Palworld turned the Steam charts upside down. It also broke the record by surpassing the number of simultaneous players of Counter-Strike 2. What do you think about Palworld? Please don’t forget to share your thoughts with us in the comments.