Palworld accused of copying Pokémon models, developer pushes back, says artists are being slandered
Ludicrously successful Pokémon parody survival game Palworld, which has sold four million copies in just days, has come under the microscopes of internet detectives who think its 100 Pokémon-like monsters go beyond parody into straight-up rip-off territory.
The head of Palworld developer Pocketpair, Takuro Mizobe, said on X today that «slanderous» comments are being made about Palworld's artists. Mizobe also recently told Automaton that Pocketpair has «no intention of infringing upon the intellectual property of other companies.»
The unproven allegation going around is that some number of Palworld's creature models weren't just inspired by Pokémon, but were made by directly copying and editing 3D models ripped from Pokémon games.
The criticism originated from an X user named byofrog, who says they're motivated by disgust for «how much Palworld glorifies animal abuse» (the game includes a variety of ways to mistreat its creatures). In a series of posts byofrog points out similarities between ripped 3D meshes from Palworld and Pokémon games.
«The Palworld meshes are not node-for-node the same, but they're really close,» byofrog wrote alongside a comparison of the Cinderace model ripped from Pokémon Sword and Shield and one of Palworld's models, which in particular has very similar, but not identical, feet (see the image at the top of this article).
Byofrog says they have «very little» experience with 3D modeling, and others aren't so convinced that any Pokémon meshes were directly copied. «It is my opinion, as someone with a background in 3D modeling, that not only is the palworld topography different, it is superior,» said X user Hexidimentional in response to one comparison.
Maybe they're brothers? #Palworld #Pokemon #Lycanroc model from SV. pic.twitter.com/KnGSozfJGQJanuary 21, 2024
Byofrog's most-shared comparison (embedded above) overlays Pokémon's Lycanroc model on Palworld's parody version, showing how the two creatures share almost identical proportions.
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