Palworld released early access last week and is already a massive hit on Steam. However, the game also attracted a lot of controversy, and some critics have reportedly taken things too far. According to the game’s producer, Takuro Mizobe, artists who worked on the game have been subject to slander and death threats.
Palworld artists allegedly receiving death threats
On January 22nd, the Pocketpair CEO put out a tweet saying, “Currently, we are receiving slanderous comments against our artists, and we are seeing tweets that appear to be death threats. I have received a variety of opinions regarding Palworld, but all productions related to Palworld are supervised by multiple people, including myself, and I am responsible for the production. I would appreciate it if you would refrain from slandering the artists involved in Palworld.”
Palworld sold over 6 million units in four days, reaching a peak of over 2 million concurrent players. It displaced Counter-Strike 2 as the most-played game on Steam and is already the platform’s most popular game ever. Whatever detractors may say about “Pokémon with guns,” there is clearly a massive, underserved market for something like it. Given the disappointment many fans felt toward 2022’s Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, that isn’t too surprising.
However, the game has also attracted plenty of controversy. Many of Palworld’s titular Pals look suspiciously similar to existing Pokémon designs. Many Pokémon fans have taken to social media to point out the similarities, which they allege cross the line into plagiarism.
Takuro Mizobe denies engaging in copyright infringement, but it’s hard not to see where people are coming from. Still, sending death threats to artists crosses a line.
