Modders made a Palworld Pokemon Mod, only to be takendown due to Nintendo’s Legal Threats
It looks like Charmander and Pikachu are hitting the mines to try and earn a place in my base. On January 19, Pocketpair released Palworld—a game where you can collect Pokemon-like creatures and enslave them. It’s only been less than a week since its release, but the game’s already become a worldwide hit, with over 1.5 million concurrent players on Steam and 5 million copies sold.
I knew it was coming, but I didn’t expect the turnout to happen this early. Palworld now has a Pokemon mod, turning your playable character into Ash and your Pals into Pokemon. YouTuber ToastedShoes briefly showed off the mod on his Twitter feed. The 24-second video shows that the mod turns everything Pokemon-themed, from the Pals you face to your character.
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Palworld vs. Pokemon
Palworld itself isn’t a Pokemon game, but it’s been compared to the series for how it allows you to capture and fight monsters. But beyond that, the gameplay is wholly different from actual Pokemon titles. Palworld contains a blend of elements from various genres, including survival and open-world RPG mechanics.
Palworld Pokemon Comparison
The Palworld mod concerning Pokemon will allow you to capture beloved creatures from the franchise, including Torchic, Rattata, and many more. You can see the mod in action through the clip ToastedShoes shared above. The mod’s creator described it as an overhaul that converts everything into Pokemon. In the clip, we can see Ash fighting an Electabuzz and hunting a Torterra. Misty and Brock are there as well, with Misty wielding a gun.
Can We Expect to See More Palworld Mods in the Future?
At this time, Palworld doesn’t have mod support, but Pocketpair stated that their team plans to add it as part of a future update. You can see more information about this through the Steam FAQ.
Palworld has been criticized since its release due to its likeness to Pokemon and the possible use of AI generation to develop most of the Pals’ designs. Still, despite this, the game has been a massive success. Palworld’s Twitter handle recently announced they’ve surpassed 5 million unit sales and has become the 3rd highest concurrently played game on Steam ever, with 1.5 million users currently playing.
In truth, the creation of the Pokemon mod was inevitable, but I’m still surprised it happened quickly. Pokemon fans are no strangers to seeing iconic characters from the franchise being added to other games. There have been far more jarring examples other than Palworld. We even saw a mod that puts Koraidon in Elden Ring’s The Lands Between. But even without Pikachu and Pokemon’s mechanics in the mix, the “Pokemon With Guns and Violence” pitch ultimately worked out in Palworld’s favor.
Looks Like Pokemon in Palworld Isn’t Meant to Be
The undeniable overlap between Palworld and Pokemon has been a dominant discussion around forums. After the Pokemon mod that ToastedShoes posted went viral, the Palworld Modding Community Discord, which can be found linked at the top of the rapidly growing PalworldMods subreddit, is distancing itself from it. According to them, it’s for the sake of the mod scene as a whole. Server admin Archery 100 wrote that the mod alone poses a giant risk to the community, and they’ll need to take precautions so Nintendo’s lawyers won’t “nuke” them with litigious actions.
With the Pokemon mod highly likely using ripped assets, the concern is understandable since—in Nintendo’s eyes—it’s very illegal. Nintendo has gone after plenty of fan projects and mods before; Discord conversations are regularly pulled into DMCA cases from companies. The Palworld Modding Discord no longer allows any associated files or links to be provided on their server to avoid trouble. Such posts will be deleted, resulting in a permanent ban for breaking the rules.
On the flip side, casual discussions and memes of Palworld’s Pokemon are still permitted, as long as nothing legally dubious is embedded on the Discord channel.
Palworld is currently available to play on Steam and Xbox Game Pass. However, users playing on platforms other than Steam will have a much more limited multiplayer experience due to the Windows Store’s options. At this time, Palworld on Xbox game only accommodates four players to join one session at a time.
