Pokemon has warned that it plans to investigate reports that the new hit video game Palworld infringes on the iconic franchise's intellectual copyrights.
Widely described as "Pokémon with guns," which was released last week, the makers of Palworld said it has sold more than eight million copies in less than six days.
Released on the online platform Steam, the Palworld game combines players' weapon-wielding avatars with monsters that eerily resemble those from the hugely popular Pokemon franchise, partly owned by Nintendo.
"We have received many inquiries about another company's game releasing in January 2024," the Pokemon Company said in a statement.
"We have not given any permission for the use of any intellectual property or assets in this game," it added, without mentioning Palworld by name.
The company said it intends to "investigate and take appropriate measures to address any actions that infringe on intellectual property rights related to Pokemon.
Currently, Palworld is in early access mode and is still being developed with the help of player feedback, its creators, Japan-based PocketPair, said in describing their new game.
According to the creators, the game is home to more than 100 different characters - called "Pals" - that players can capture and turn into allies for their adventures in the game.
Since the game became popular, some users on social media have accused PocketPair of copying from Pokemon, posting images of very similar characters and features from the game and franchise.
PocketPair CEO Takuro Mizobe said the company "receives defamatory comments against our artists and we see tweets that look like death threats." /BGNES
