Pokémon with guns? All the latest on viral gaming hit Palworld

Gaming’s first big surprise hit of 2024 arrived early with the release of Palworld. Described by some as “Pokémon with guns,” the game launched in early access on Steam and Xbox in January and sold millions of copies in a matter of days.

The game hasn’t been without controversy — including accusations of plagiarism — but that didn’t slow things down. However, now it is facing a bigger threat — on September 18th, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company announced they filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair, the maker of Palworld.

Keep up with all the latest on Palworld right here.

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  Palworld is getting a new island... and a whole lot more.

  The breakout hit is rolling out a big update on June 27th, adding new environments, pals, buildings, raids, and a new enemy oil rig. It’s also launching dedicated servers on Xbox.

  
  

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  Say hello to your newest pals.

  PalWorld is getting an update this summer that adds some new creatures. And, as the new trailer shows they’re not only cute, but also flammable.

  
  

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  April Fools’ 2024: Doki Doki Palworld Club.

  The developers at Pocketpair are doing that annoying game developer thing where on April Fools Day they announce a legitimately cool new game idea only for it to be a joke. And for some reason, it’s always a dating simulator.

  In Palworld: ~More Than Just Pals~ choose from a roster of dateable Pals and trainers including the busty Lovander with a student ID number... errr... 69. It’s a shame this is fake; weird dating sims are always fun.

  
  

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  Palworld’s creator is exploring bringing the game to more platforms.

  Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe says the studio is in talks to bring the game to more platforms beyond PC and Xbox.

  The obvious question is whether the game, which has been nicknamed “Pokémon with guns” and has faced accusations of plagiarizing characters from Nintendo’s hit franchise, will ever come to the Nintendo Switch.

  
  

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  Here come the Palworld mobile clones.

  Now that Palworld is officially a hit, it was inevitable that copycats would start flooding in. Now the developer is warning players about similar-looking and titled games that have been rolling into mobile app stores. With a quick search I was able to spot a few in the App Store, including one sold by a company called “BLUE RIDGE GUTTER CLEANING LLC,” which doesn’t sound like the most legitimate developer.

  
  

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  This is how Nintendo’ll get ‘em.

  I think we finally found the smoking gun in the Palworld vs. Nintendo plagiarism discourse. But, instead of infringing on Pokémon, Palworld might get got for jacking from one of Nintendo’s other vaunted institutions: Animal Crossing.

  Apparently, one of the pieces of furniture you can make for your Pal gulag is Animal Crossing’s infamous frog chair. Though I doubt Nintendo owns the intellectual property rights to a specific depiction of chair, it would be pretty funny if this, of all things, is what takes Palworld down.

  
  

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  Yes, The Pokémon Company is aware of Palworld.

  Palworld, the survival game described by some as "Pokémon with guns" because of its familiar-looking designs, has sold millions of copies in under a week, with more simultaneous players on Steam than any other game outside of peak PUBG.

  And now, after one modder already received a takedown notice, we have The Pokémon Company's first official response:

  Inquiries Regarding Other Companies’ Games

  We have received many inquiries regarding another company’s game released in January 2024. We have not granted any permission for the use of Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game. We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon. We will continue to cherish and nurture each and every Pokémon and its world, and work to bring the world together through Pokémon in the future.

  The Pokémon Company

  
  

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  Palworld is getting raid bosses, PvP, and crossplay support in the future

  

  Image: Pocketpair

  Palworld, a new multiplayer monster-collecting survival game, has sold more than 7 million copies in just five days, and now the developers behind it are sharing a roadmap of what’s to come. Dubbed “Pokémon with guns” by many, Palworld is set to get player-vs-player (PvP) fights, raid bosses, a PvP arena mode, and Steam / Xbox crossplay support.

  Developer Pocketpair revealed the planned future updates in a post on X (formerly Twitter) today with no time frame for when they will arrive. Palworld is also getting “various Xbox feature improvements,” alongside server transfers and migrations, improvements to the game’s building system, and new islands, pals, bosses, and technologies.

  Read Article >

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  But for Palworld, it was Tuesday.

  Palworld’s coming for the kneecaps of all of Steam’s most popular games. Within days of its early access launch it’s sold 6 million copies, rocketed to the top of Steam concurrent player lists, and now it can add another milestone, amassing 1.864 million players to beat Counter-Strike’s all time peak player count.

  Funnily enough, Palworld’s peak player count only barely edged out Counter-Strike’s all time high by roughly 50,000 players. Impressive numbers aside, Palworld’s got a tough row to hoe if it hopes to ever beat reigning champion PUBG’s all-time player count of 3 million.

  
  

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  Palworld is a hit, and it’s easy to see why

  

  Image: Pocketpair

  It seems like everyone on Earth is either talking about or playing Palworld. Indeed, in the three days since its early access launch on Steam on January 19th (and simultaneous release on Game Pass), the game has sold over 5 million copies. While that’s not quite Tears of the Kingdom numbers, to have a game from a relatively unknown developer do that kind of work in that short of time? Okay, Palworld, you have our attention. Let’s see exactly what it is you have to say.

  Palworld’s announcement trailer released in 2021. It started generally enough, with a bright, colorful world populated with cute monsters that bear an almost uncomfortable resemblance to another game featuring cute, catchable creatures. But then come the AK-47s. Midway through the game’s trailer, the tone shifts from “catch these cute monsters that will help you build your home” to “shoot these cute monsters and use them as slave labor.” One of the most memorable moments from that first trailer was the image of a bunch of pals (the monsters are called pals) that look startlingly like Sprigatito, mournfully manufacturing assault rifles on an assembly line.

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  Over five million copies of Palworld have been sold since Friday.

  Lots of people have been catching Pals and hatching eggs, according to the game’s developer, Pocketpair. Palworld is also currently the most-played game on Steam, hitting a peak of roughly 1.5 million players.

  The game, described by Kotaku as “if someone tossed Minecraft, Fortnite, Pokémon, and some AR-15s into a giant blender,” is a breakout hit despite seemingly coming out of nowhere.

  
  

  

  

  Pocketpair/X