Summary
A Japanese entertainment agency has warned its talent about discussingPalworld, out of consideration about its relations with The Pokemon Company.Palworldwas released for early access on both Steam and Xbox consoles on January 19.Palworld’s viral successsaw it even outpacing the latestPokemonrelease,Scarlet and Violet, in terms of sales. DespitePalworld’s overnight global popularity, it appears Japan still has concerns about this game and its similarities toPokemon.
Most of the online discussion surroundingPalworldhas been about how it was inspired byPokemon. Some gamers have even accusedPalworldof plagiarizing some of its creatures' designs, such asPalworld’s Anubis being too similar to the PokemonLucario. Likely due to this fine line between inspiration and possible plagiarism, a Japanese agency has asked its talent not to talk aboutPalworld.
In astatement provided to Tokyo Sports, this agency asked its talent not to discussPalworldout of consideration for future collaborations withPokemon. This measure was likely due toPokemon’s popularity in the region, and having one of the agency’s most famous talents mentioningPalworldcould end up possibly damaging its relations with The Pokemon Company. “We have told our talent not to mentionPalworldon social media or in public,” said the talent agency source. “This was done out of consideration for thePokemonside 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 mentionPalworldon social media or in public. This was done out of consideration for thePokemonside as an agency. This decision was made in consideration of future potential collaborations.
The Pokemon Company released a statement aboutPalworlda few days after its early access release. WhilePalworldwasn’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 aboutPalworld. The Pokemon Company stated that it hadn’t granted permission for the usage of thePokemonIP or its assets, and that it would be investigating any potential copyright infringement. Nintendo is also aware ofPalworld, though states it wouldn’t comment on “individual cases.”
Palworldremains 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,Pokemonincluded, this hasn’t stoppedthe online discourse surroundingPalworld’s possible plagiarism.
Outsidethe controversies thatPalworldhas garnered, the game has been a huge success Xbox. According to Xbox,Palworldwas the biggest third-party launch game on the Game Pass service, having more than 7 million Xbox players since January. WithPalworld’s runaway success, Xbox announced it would be providing support toPalworld’s developers, such as dedicated servers and assisting with optimization.
Palworld
WHERE TO PLAY
In this game, you’re able to 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!
