Being dubbed as the “Pokemon with Guns” game, Palworld has sparked backlashes and controversies ever since its announcement. With the game currently in early access, it has already reached the top of Steam and Twitch stats. On the contrary, its striking resemblances with the character designs of Pokemon have made many players unhappy. Considering many players are accusing the devs of using AI to generate characters and different designs, it’s not a smooth road for PocketPair. Sadly, it has come to a point where Palworld devs stated they have received death threats. So, here’s everything you need to know about the AI controversy in Palworld.
What is the Palworld AI Controversy?
https://twitter.com/onion_mu/status/1748108600935919688
Palworld is currently accused of plagiarising specific character designs from Pokemon as of now. With near-similar designs between the Pokemon and Pals, many players accused the developer of using generative AI tech. However, there isn’t any concrete evidence that the developers at Palworld used this generative AI to create designs.
According to the X (Twitter) user, @onion_mu, there are many Pokemon jumbled into key features of the Pals. As per their design analysis thread, it exposes multiple Pals and their counterparts from Pokemon in more depth. Adding more, many players also accused the game of having the exact areas.
In the past, Pocketpair’s CEO, Takuro Mizobe, has excitedly expressed the use of generative AI tech. What makes it conclusive for some players in the community is that the dev also shared photos of Pokemon creatures using AI on many X (Twitter) posts. Pocketpair had also released the AI: Art Imposter game involving the use of AI. With real-time and AI-generated artwork, you must find out if it’s made by an AI or a human.
Further, many fans in the community argued if the game was a parody, inspiration, or bland plagiarism. Given the guns, violence, and gameplay mechanics of the game, it can’t be fully labeled as a copy of Pokemon.
Who Made Palworld Designs?
According to the CEO’s recent blog post, the person who designs the Pals is a recent graduate. She draws most of the character designs in Palworld while having formidable talent, and skills. While being super-fast with corrections and feedback, the CEO praised her for drawing incredibly fast.
That’s everything covered about the Palworld AI controversy. If you enjoyed reading this, check out our guides to find out how to get Ancient Technology Points, how to find and get Coal, and explore more Palworld Guides in our dedicated section right here on Technclub.
