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The Pokemon Company have released an official statement regarding "other companies' games" which obviously refers to the global phenomenon Palworld, which sold more than 8 million copies on Steam and skyrocketed to the number one spot on Xbox's most played titles in just six days since launch.
The comparisons between Pokemon and Palworld came naturally as soon as the game was released in early access since Pocket Pair's title is basically a Pokemon clone with survival mechanics and much prettier visuals.
In their comment, The Pokemon Company say they will investigate and take appropriate measures against any acts of IP infringement, which is probably the least you expect from any company if their IP is potentially being infringed.
"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."
The whole statement feels somewhat unnecessary and I think it would be for the best if The Pokemon Company simply stayed silent on the matter because the truth is, they can't really do much about Palworld.
Yes, the game copies mechanics from the Pokemon genre and yes, some of the creatures you collect resemble those found in Pokemon but games taking mechanics, boss and creature designs from other games is a story as old as gaming itself. If it were that easy, From Software could probably sue half of the gaming industry for copying their soul-like game design.
I'd argue that there is simply nothing Pokemon Company can do here except take down various mods that add Ash Ketchum, Pikachu and other popular Pokemon to the game, as they already did with one of the first mods that surfaced on the popular modding website NexusMods.
The best thing the Japanese studio can do is actually learn from Palworld's success and apply that to their next Pokemon game. It's simply incredible how we never got anything like Palworld from The Pokemon Company all these years.
Underwhelming visuals, a lack of innovation in gameplay mechanics and a failure to create something that both young and adult gamers would find engaging are synonymous with recent Pokemon games. It was only a matter of time before something like Palworld popped up and I doubt Pocket Pair's survival title is the last game from this creature-collecting, Pokemon-style bucket.
What if, let's say Blizzard's upcoming Odyssey project is a game in a similar vein? A triple-A Pokemon-like title with high production values, snappy gameplay and gorgeous art style that launches across all platforms? I'd bet that would be an instant hit and Pokemon Company couldn't do anything about it except gripe about how they didn't think of that.
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