From Meme To Mainstream: Palworld Celebrates 25 Million Players Despite (Or Because?) Of Pokémon Plagiarism Controversy

Palworld, a game often likened to "Pokémon With Guns," has reached a remarkable milestone of over 25 million players within a month of its early access launch.

Developed by Pocketpair, the open-world survival game has achieved this feat across both Valve's Steam and Microsoft Corp.'s MSFT Xbox platforms, Kotaku reported.

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Steam sales alone have accounted for nearly 15 million copies, with an additional 10 million players on Xbox and Windows through the Game Preview program on Xbox Game Pass.

Despite a slight decline in momentum, Palworld remains a significant release, dominating the gaming scene for the past two months.

Its journey from internet meme to a bona fide hit has been extraordinary, with a rapid influx of players reaching around 20 million by the end of January.

But, along with its success came scrutiny, particularly regarding concerns about its use of AI and the striking resemblance of its creatures, known as "pals," to Pokémon.

Developers even faced death threats amidst accusations of plagiarism due to the similarities, despite Pocketpair's assertion that Palworld draws inspiration from survival crafting games like Ark Survival Evolved and Valheim.

Addressing the issue, CEO Takuro Mizobe said on X: "I have received a variety of opinions regarding Palworld, but all productions related to Palworld are supervised by multiple people, including myself, and I am responsible for the production. I would appreciate it if you would refrain from slandering the artists involved in Palworld."

Nintendo ADR's NTDOY The Pokémon Company issued a statement on Jan. 24, 5 days after the game's launch. In the statement, the company vows to "take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights."

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Photo: Pocketpair via Steam.