Guns, Crafting and Survival Not Enough, Pokémon Fans Accuse Hit Palworld of Plagiarism
On the occasion of Parlworld's gigantic succes, there have been claims that the game's character design is plagiarized from the Pokemon series. The discussion even includes images generated with artificial intelligence.
Palworld, the survival action game that was released in early access on January 19, is setting popularity records on Steam. However, with great interest come great controversies. They are related to the designs of the "pals," which are said to be plagiarized from popular Pokemon series.
These discussions began to appear after the game's initial presentation, but they intensified after its huge success.
Pokemon fans are looking for plagiarism (AI in the background)
Surprisingly, it was the fans of the Pokemon brand, not its owners, who sparked a controversy on the internet - primarily on social media and forums - by casting doubt on the legality of certain resources used by the Pocket Pair studio.
Detailed analyses comparing characters from Palworld and the world of Pokemon have even been created on X.
from the Pokemon series on the left, Pengullet from Palworld on the right.Source - Nintendo/Pocket Pair.
Lamball from Palworld on the left, Wooloo from Pokemon on the right.Source - Nintendo/Pocket Pair.
Anubis from Palworld on the left, Lucario from Pokemon on the right.Source - Nintendo/Pocket Pair.
Certainly, there are noticeable similarities between the characters of both brands. However, since the line between inspiration and plagiarism can be very thin, it appears to be difficult to determine - especially from a layman's perspective - whether, in this instance, we are facing any form of intellectual property theft.
Some players argue that "pals" resemble Pokemons too much to be considered unique, pointing to another point. It's about Pocket Pair's historical relationship with generative AI tools. As noted by a user on the X platform with the nickname Zaytri, the previous game of Pocket Pair is a game-tool where the mechanics associated with the artificial intelligence image generator play a crucial role (via VGC).
Furthermore, the CEO of the studio, Takuro Mizobe, appears to be praising the potential of AI image generators in his tweets as a tool for generating new content and worlds. That's why there was a suspicion that the characters in Palworld were actually Pokemons "passed" through one of these programs and then transferred into the game.
It has to be admitted that this is a rather daring claim and a serious accusation, which is supported by some individuals interested in the subject.
Probably AI generated designs from a [software] model that was trained on Pokemon art.
Holy shit this is blatant [plagiarism].
Holy shit some of those [pals] are just brazen ripoffs...
Usually I'm a little skeptical of these claims but this is literally so blatant. I personally don't think this should be legal, but...
Most players stand shoulder to shoulder with Palworld's developers
Despite the controversy surrounding Palworld, the majority of players appear to oppose the allegations of plagiarism made against the developers of Pocket Pair. The title definitely has many "ideas for itself" and represents a genre that deviates from the formula known from the Pokemon series. Plagiarism is out of the question in the overall assessment.
As for character models, some commentators point out that there are currently over 1000 characters in Pokemon, which is why the game, whose developers drew inspiration from this series, must strongly resemble it here and there.
Not plagiarism, just parody
Other online users suggest that Palworld is a parody, depicting Pokemon in a twisted reflection.
Palworld is not only "Pokemon-inspired", it's an overt parody. The entire idea of enslaving your pals (and human enemies) and forcing them to work/fight for you is a joke about that being what Pokemon is when you get down to it.
Pokemon is about capturing wild animals and forcing them to fight, but in-universe it's this fun, whimsical thing. Strap on the assault rifles, wield the pals as weapons, and you end up with absurdist qualities. That's kind of the whole joke of Palworld.
This whole thing is a non-story.
[Speaking of Palworld], You mean the game that is an extremely overt riff on Pokemon and satirizes the series created creatures that look a lot like Pokemon? Whoa! Who would have guessed that?
Players point out that the variations between the "creatures" are significant and noticeable, so in the case of Palworld, we can only speak of a strong inspiration rather than plagiarism.
No designs were copied 1:1, and the Pokemon Company doesn't own a style or individual design elements [...].
Whose side are you on in this discussion? Do you think the developer of Palworld resorted to plagiarism when designing "pals," or was it just an inspiration? Let me know in the comment section below.
