It took less than 24 hours for Palworld's Pokemon mod to get hit by Nintendo's lawyers

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(Image credit: Nintendo)

Pokemon Scarlet Violet starters best evolutions

Nintendo is seemingly filing takedown requests against Pokemon mods forPalworld.

Yesterday, just a few days after Palworld launched into early access last week, wequickly saw a Pokemon modoverhauling the game’s creatures with ‘mons themselves. People were talking about Palworld as ‘Pokemon with guns’ before launch, and now they’ve truly delivered on that vision with Pikachu and others in the new survival game.

It seems like Nintendo andThe Pokemon Companyaren’t fans. According to the tweet below from YouTuber Toasted, Nintendo or The Pokemon Company has taken aim at his video promoting the Palworld mod, and the video has been taken offline as a result of the copyright claim from the company.

Nintendo has come for me, please leave me in your thoughts and prayers pic.twitter.com/HGg65y67QpJanuary 23, 2024

Nintendo has come for me, please leave me in your thoughts and prayers pic.twitter.com/HGg65y67QpJanuary 23, 2024

OnePalworld modding community even banned Pokemon mods, such was its fear of Nintendo’s retaliation. That seems to be the case for the NexusMods community just below - the Reddit post claims NexusMods staff have begun removing Pokemon mods for Palworld entirely.

Interestingly, lawyer Richard Hoeg has weighed in on the original video from Toasted being taken down. The lawyer believes that although the mod itself is clearly infringing on Pokemon’s copyright, he thinks it does a “decent job” of showing just how different the core game of Palworld actually is from your standard Pokemon game.

Interestingly, though the mod itself is likely infringing, I think it does a decent job showing just how different base Palworld looks. I still wouldn’t be eager to bring a legal claim on the game itself if I’m Nintendo/Pokemon. https://t.co/7geWa0m7kbJanuary 22, 2024

Interestingly, though the mod itself is likely infringing, I think it does a decent job showing just how different base Palworld looks. I still wouldn’t be eager to bring a legal claim on the game itself if I’m Nintendo/Pokemon. https://t.co/7geWa0m7kbJanuary 22, 2024

At the core, Hoeg’s argument is bang on: Palworld is very much a survival game, with some RPG stylings layered on top, whereas Pokemon games are fundamentally RPGs. We even wrote yesterday about whywe need to stop calling Palworld ‘Pokemon with guns,‘and it all hinges on the survival and management genre trappings of the new game.

On the other hand,Pokemon’s former legal head has weighed in on Palworld, and called it “the usual ripoff nonsense that I would see a thousand times a year.” That’s pretty damning stuff, and from the head of Pokemon’s legal department, no less.

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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

Nemesis board game models and tokens laid out on a board

1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

1

Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”

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4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”

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1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”

Shadow brandishes a gun in Sonic The Hedgehog 3

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2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”

2

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3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”

3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”

3

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4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”

4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”

4

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5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”

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5

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1Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now”

Squid Game season 2

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1

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2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”

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2

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3

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4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”

4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”

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5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

5

Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

Contents