Former Palworld Designer Claims Pocketpair Altered Designs to Resemble Pokémon

An ex-employee of Palworld has alleged that their character designs were altered to more closely mimic Pokemon without their consent.

In a rough translation of the original Japanese comments shared by user Lewtwo, it is claimed that Pocketpair’s CEO, Takuro Mizobe, allegedly directed artists to “Design a creature that would rank in the top 100 Pokemon in terms of popularity.”

The designer, emphasizing they did not wish to “copy anyone,” accused Pocketpair of transforming the “creature I came up with into some sort of chimera design.”

After holding back from speaking out for a long time due to their contract, the individual claimed Pocketpair “casually trampled on the feelings of designers who made an effort to avoid plagiarism.”

Lewtwo’s rough translation of the designer’s original remarks.

On September 19, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company officially announced the filing of a lawsuit against Pocketpair for alleged patent infringement.

While details about the specific patent in question remain unclear, it is important to note that individual Pokemon designs fall under copyright protection, not patent law. Thus, TPC and Nintendo’s legal claims are unlikely to assert that Pocketpair copied the designs of their Pokemon.

Nonetheless, the lawsuit’s news acted as a trigger for the previous Pocketpair designer to reveal their experience, stating their support for a certain major company.

Despite having launched into early access on January 19, Palworld has faced significant scrutiny over accusations that its “Pals” designs bear too much similarity to the Pokemon franchise, even though its gameplay is fundamentally distinct.

Source