Key Takeaways
- A former Palworld developer alleges Pocketpair changed their designs to more closely resemble popular Pokemon.
- The designer claims that the company changed the developer’s designs after they left the company, aiming to re-create a “top 100”-ranking Pokemon design
- The allegations come just days after Nintendo and The Pokemon Company officially filed a lawsuit against the Palworld developer for patent infringement.
A former developer that worked on Palworld is alleging that Pocketpair changed their designs for the game’s Pals to look more like Pokemon for its full release. The newest game from the indie developer took the world by storm earlier this year, with millions of fans flocking to the game on both PC and Xbox consoles. The game caught the eye of many fans for the similarities of its designs to Pokemon, mixed with base-building and survival elements similar to games like Minecraft. Now, Pocketpair is finding itself in hot water with Pokemon‘s creators.
While rumors have swirled about potential legal action against Palworld since its release, The Pokemon Company and Nintendo finally took action earlier this week. The Pokemon Company and Nintendo officially announced the pair would be filing a lawsuit against Pocketpair, claiming patent infringement related to the monster-catching survival game. Fans have speculated on several potential reasons for the lawsuit against the indie developer, most recently uncovering a patent filed for Pokemon‘s capturing mechanics. However, Palworld‘s infringement may now go even deeper due to recent claims from a former developer.
Following the controversy surrounding the joint lawsuit against Pocketpair, a former developer is speaking out against the Palworld developer. In a statement translated by popular Twitter user Lewtwo, the former developer claims that Pocketpair intentionally changed their designs ahead of the game’s release. Pocketpair demanded that the Palworld designs be changed to resemble a “top 100” Pokemon, suggesting the company was actively trying to copy Pokemon. The former Pocketpair developer even suggests that the studio changed their designs after the employee left the company.
Palworld Designer Alleges Pocketpair Changed Designs to Resemble Pokemon
The severe accusations against Pocketpair come as the company has often been criticized in the past for the similarities of its Pals. Palworld‘s designs have often been referred to as blatant ripoffs of Pokemon designs, particularly citing comparisons between Anubis and Lucario as well as Lamball’s similarity to Wooloo. At the time of Palworld‘s release, a former high-ranking attorney for The Pokemon Company even went so far as to refer to Palworld as “ripoff nonsense,” likely foreshadowing the eventual lawsuit. Pocketpair has made an official statement on the lawsuit, referring to it as “unfortunate” and suggesting it will hamper development of the game.
The long-rumored lawsuit against Pocketpair will likely cause major issues as the game recently become a hot topic once again. Palworld was heavily rumored to be going free-to-play in recent weeks before the claims were quashed, with an eventual PS5 launch also seeing renewed discussion. Summer also saw the debut of Palworld‘s “Sakurajima” update, introducing a new island and a new enemy faction to the popular monster-catching game. Palworld‘s massive success could potentially be crashing to a halt as the long-standing rumors of Nintendo’s legal action come to fruition.
