The game presents a world of Pokémon-like creatures that players interact with. However, after Nintendo interfered with some elements of the game due to copyright infringement, the Palworld team redesigned the creatures to give the game a different dimension.
Nintendo’s intervention in Palworld’s Pokémon mod came as no surprise, but the game’s mod maker quickly responded with a new download link. This new version replaces Palworld’s friendly “Pals” with completely original, “legally distinct” and “copyright-free” pocket creatures.
Last week, YouTuber ToastedShoes exaggerated Palworld’s close similarities to Pokémon with an unlicensed Pokémon mod. After images of the mod remained online for about a day, Nintendo began deleting them.
It features some amazing pocket sized creatures, such as Yellow Rat! pic.twitter.com/V5Saw3AIUI
— Toasted (@ToastedShoes) January 30, 2024
The Pokémon Corporation was quick to respond, saying that they would “investigate and take appropriate action” against anything that might infringe copyright. Meanwhile, mod community hub Nexus Mods also issued its own statement, confirming that it will no longer host Pokémon-themed Palworld mods due to Nintendo’s DMCA/legal threats.
But that didn’t deter Toasted, who uploaded his new mod “Legally Different Pocket Creatures Palworld Mod Pack” to Nexus Mods today. This mod pack replaces the player character with a red and white hat worn by Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum. Some Pals have also been replaced with the classic pocket creatures of old – such as the Blue Penguin, the Flowery Raptor, and of course the Yellow Rat.
Despite all these incidents, Palworld continues to be a huge success. Palworld developer Pocketpair apologized for server connection issues over the weekend and pledged to combat cheaters on the official servers. Over 2 million concurrent players are online on Steam alone.
