Palworld Devs Say They're Being Sent Death Threats

thegamer.com:

Palworld has come under fire over the past few days for "stolen" and "lazy" designs, with some even accusing developer Pocketpair of using AI to create its Pokemon-like creatures. CEO Takuro Mizobe, however, has denied these "slanderous comments", revealing that he even received death threats over them.

"I have received a variety of opinions regarding Palworld," Mizobe tweeted (as reported by IGN). "But all productions related to Palworld are supervised by multiple people, including myself, and I am responsible for the production. I would appreciate if you would refrain from slandering the artists involved in Palworld."

Frantically working through all my DMs and emails! I promise! However, you'll excuse me if I skip over the death threats, threats to the company, and massively outlandish claims" - community manager Bucky.

Speaking to Automaton, Mizobe addressed the Donphan in the room that is Palworld ripping off Pokemon. He said that Palworld cleared legal reviews and no action was taken against the game; "We make our games very seriously, and we have absolutely no intention of infringing upon the intellectual property of other companies".

The AI accusations began when people dug up Mizobe's comments from 2021 when he tweeted about using AI tools in a Buzzfeed quiz to make his own Pokemon. He spoke about it again in 2022, arguing that AI was an inevitable development that could be useful for gaming. That same year, Pocketpair released a game called AI: Art Imposter (that may or may not be a meta-commentary) which used a generative system to create images that players would have to guess the origins of.

There is no evidence that Palworld used AI to create its Pals, but many have taken these earlier comments as proof. It's certainly possible, but there's nothing concrete to back the claims yet. To boot, Steam has a new policy in which developers have to disclose the use of AI in their games, but Palworld has no such disclaimer on its store page. There are very clear