Palworld Receives Pokémon Mod: Legal Troubles or New Opportunities?

Palworld, a popular survival game that allows players to discover creatures resembling Pokémon and utilize a wide array of firearms, has achieved unexpected success. Within less than a week, over 5 million copies have been sold, a staggering number for a title initially perceived as a joke – “Pokémon with guns.” What may not be as astounding is the fact that modders took just three days to turn this joke into reality, now enabling users to modify characters in Palworld, transforming them into genuine Pokémon.

Modder Toasted Shoes recently released a trailer on TikTok and Twitter showcasing their mod, replacing the main character in Palworld with Ash Ketchum, a well-known figure from the Pokémon series. Players can take on the role of Ash, accompanied by Pikachu, who aids in fortifying their stronghold. Alongside them are Brock and Misty, and even battles against Team Rocket’s Jessie serve as one of the early boss encounters. Toasted Shoes promises to unveil a longer video on YouTube soon, providing a more in-depth look at this mod.

Many suggest that Palworld may be facing the risk of a lawsuit, primarily from Nintendo. However, whether or not this will materialize remains to be seen. It is worth mentioning, though, that this would not be the first instance of Pokémon elements being incorporated into a popular survival game. In 2017, the game Ark: Survival Evolved received a mod titled Pokémon Evolved from Mystic Academy. The studio received a DMCA notice regarding copyright infringement, but it did not originate from Nintendo or The Pokémon Company. Another modder working on their own Pokémon-themed project for Ark reported a copyright violation. Ultimately, the notice was retracted, and Pokémon Evolved can still be downloaded from the Steam Workshop. Importantly, Nintendo never became involved in the matter. Only time will tell what lies in the future of Palworld – with Pikachu or without. However, please refrain from shooting Psyduck – it already has a difficult life.

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The source of the article is from the blog maestropasta.cz