Game Artists Claim Palworld Plagiarized Pokémon

Palworld has not stopped making headlines, not only for the entertainment and hilarious moments it offers but also for the accusations it has received of allegedly plagiarizing Pokémon. To contribute to the discussion, two professional game development artists spoke out and supported the idea that Palworld plagiarized Pokémon.

Internet users did not sit idly by but have gradually found evidence that the similarities between Palworld and Pokémon were not simply the result of influences but might involve possible plagiarism, especially after comparing the character models of some Pals with Pokémon.

While internet users are still debating, for a couple of artists, it is clear that Pocketpair used Pokémon models to create Palworld.

Artists Claim Palworld Plagiarized Pokémon

"You can't, in any way, accidentally get the same proportions across several models from another game without copying the models. Or at least meticulously tracing them first," commented a senior artist with experience in AAA games to Video Games Chronicle.

The artist gave an example of an exercise often given in tests or job interviews where illustrators are asked to create a 3D model based on the same schematics or 2D art. Interestingly, the result is never as similar as the models in Palworld compared to Pokémon.

The developer even mentioned that sometimes, for game sequels, artists copy the wireframes of the same character from an old game to the new one, and even in those cases, it is difficult to make them match with such precision as seen in Palworld.

"The silhouettes and proportions [of Palworld with Pokémon] are almost perfect matches," expressed the artist. "I would testify as an expert on this in court."

This "pal" from #Palword seems like it was probably a rip of serperior and primarina from #Pokemon pic.twitter.com/g8L8vBjbDG

— byo (@byofrog) January 21, 2024

The soble one is weird because it almost has to be a rip, right? They're KINDA similar but at the same time the Palworld fin is pretty different geometrically( Soble is the second pic). This one also has a tell-tale sunken geometry aspect to it. pic.twitter.com/MFyi9ZZi5C

— byo (@byofrog) January 22, 2024

Palworld - Did it plagiarize or was it just influenced by Pokémon?

Another artist supported what his colleague said. While making it clear that the wireframes look different and strictly speaking are not the same models, they are "so similar," reinforcing the idea that Pocketpair used Pokémon models and made some changes so they were not exactly the same.

"When does 'heavily inspired by' become a blatant copy? It's much easier to take a style and modify it slightly than to come up with a completely new and cohesive style, right? I wouldn't be comfortable passing this off as my work; it's too fair in many places," added the artist.

What's your opinion? Do you think Palworld committed plagiarism, or was it just inspired? Let us know in the comments.