Palworld feels like gaming’s ultimate troll. It’s a troll on the concepts of IP and copyright as it so brazenly mimics Pokémon with its creature design. And it’s a troll on Pokémon fans, given it’s really just yet another tree-bashing survival game. But oh boy, has it been a success, and as Nintendo and The Pokémon Company continue not to sue it into space, developer Pocketpair is now looking to expand into running an entire merchandized franchise.
Of course, there’s a good chance the slowness of this reaction could have been influenced by the then-presumed need to prepare for Nintendo’s notoriously furious lawyers. However, half a year later, there’s not been a peep, with Pocketpair confirming as much to former Kotaku EiC Stephen Totilo’s Game File newsletter.