The Pokemon Company has finally released an official statement about Palworld, saying, “We intend to investigate and take appropriate action against any violations of Pokémon-related intellectual property rights.”
While the Pokemon Company didn't mention Ballworld by name, it's pretty obvious This statement In response to the incredible success the survival game was enjoying (8 million copies were sold within six days!) and many of Ballworld's titles claim to be very close to existing Pokemon.
“We have received several inquiries regarding another company's game released in January 2024,” the Pokemon company wrote. “We do not grant any permission to use Pokemon intellectual property rights or assets in the game. We intend to investigate and take appropriate action against any violations of Pokemon-related intellectual property rights. We will continue to cherish and nurture each Pokemon and its world, and work to unite the world through Pokemon in the future.”
Prior to this report, Palworld developer Pocketpair insisted that its game was closer to games like Ark Survival Evolved and Vanaheim than Pokemon. Additionally, the team revealed that they have received death threats since the game went live on January 19.
In an interview automatic, Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe shared the team's legal review and no action was taken against the company for the breach.
“We take our games very seriously, and we have no intention of infringing on other companies' intellectual property,” Misop said.
The Pokemon Company has already started cracking down on modders who replace Palworld's Pals with Pokemon, and even Nexus Mods has said it won't host Pokemon mods for Palworld for fear of Nintendo's legal team.
All these issues aside, Ballworld is undeniably a runaway hit, and we at IGN call it “great” in its current state.
“Even in its early access state, Ballworld is insanely fun, has a surprising amount of content and deep survival mechanics, and is ridiculous to put down,” wrote IGN's Travis Northup in his Ballworld review. “It can't be overlooked how shamelessly it takes ideas and designs from Pokemon, there are some unsurprising bugs and performance issues, and the task of keeping your base items on top requires a bit of rework – but when you're riding behind a flying dragon shooting a blue duck, Most of those stains wash off completely.
“It's already one of my favorite survival games, and I'm incredibly excited to see how it develops.”
Also, check out our in-depth look at whether it's fair to call Palworld a Pokemon rip-off and the roadmap for Palworld in future updates with PvP, raid bosses, and new islands.
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Adam Pankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst And on traction.
