Palworld developers suspected of copying Pokémon using AI

The new Palworld game from Japanese studio Pocketpair, released last week, has faced accusations of copying character designs from the popular Pokémon game series.

Here's What We Know

Many users on social media have openly accused Pocketpair of plagiarism, analysing Palworld's pokémon and "buddies" with famous pokémon.

Also discussed is the possibility that the developers used generative AI tools to create new designs based on existing ones. Previously, Pocketpair Studios released AI: Art Imposter, a game in which an AI image generator was part of the gameplay.

Additionally, in past posts, studio CEO Takuro Mizobe has spoken favourably about the potential of such tools for content creation. According to him, Palworld's character concepts were mostly worked on by a single aspiring artist, which also reinforced the community's suspicions.

Moreover, on Sunday, an anonymous account appeared on social network X claiming to have evidence of direct copying of game assets from other games.

Mizobe published a response without denying Pokémon's influence on Palworld's design. However, he rejected accusations of plagiarism and condemned insults against the game's artists.

Go Deeper:

• Survival shooter simulator Palworld has gone into early access on Windows and Xbox
• The January phenomenon isn't going to stop: Palworld sold 6 million copies in 4 days.
• Palworld continues to surprise: hit shooter surpasses Counter-Strike 2 in peak online play
• Pocketpair published Palworld roadmap: new raid bosses, cross-play and a bunch of fixes

Source: VGC