When you think of Palworld, the phrase "Pokemon with guns" might immediately come to mind, but this label doesn't sit well with the game's creators at Pocketpair. According to John 'Bucky' Buckley, Pocketpair's communications director and publishing manager, this shorthand, popularized during the game's initial surge in popularity, oversimplifies and misrepresents their vision.
Palworld was first revealed to the world in June 2021 at the Indie Live Expo in Japan, where it received a warm reception from the local audience. However, as Western media got wind of the game, it was quickly branded as "Pokemon with guns," a label that has stuck despite Pocketpair's efforts to distance itself from it. Buckley shared these sentiments during a talk at the Game Developers Conference and elaborated further in an interview.
Buckley clarified that while the development team includes fans of Pokemon, the game was never pitched as a Pokemon clone. Instead, their inspiration drew heavily from ARK: Survival Evolved. He explained, "A lot of us are huge ARK people, and our previous game, Craftopia, kind of has some stuff in it that we really loved from ARK and some ideas from ARK. So we wanted to just take that and make it bigger." The goal was to create a game where each creature, or "Pal," had its own unique personality and abilities, much like the dinosaurs in ARK, but with added automation elements reminiscent of games like Factorio.
Despite the unwanted label, Buckley acknowledges that "Pokemon with guns" did contribute to Palworld's success. He mentioned that even Dave Oshry from New Blood Interactive trademarked "Pokemonwithguns.com," which further fueled the game's notoriety. However, Buckley expressed frustration over the misconception that Palworld is simply a Pokemon clone, emphasizing that the game's actual gameplay is far from that.
Buckley also believes that the audiences for Palworld and Pokemon don't significantly overlap, pointing out that ARK is a more apt comparison. He doesn't see Palworld as directly competing with other games, not even with titles like Helldivers 2, which many Palworld players also purchased. He critiqued the concept of "console wars" and competition in the gaming industry, suggesting it's often manufactured for marketing purposes.
If Buckley could choose a different tagline for Palworld, he suggested something like, "Palworld: It's Kind of Like ARK if ARK Met Factorio and Happy Tree Friends." While acknowledging that this doesn't roll off the tongue as easily as "Pokemon with guns," it better reflects the game's true nature.
In our interview, Buckley also discussed the potential of Palworld coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, the possibility of Pocketpair being acquired, and other topics. You can read the full discussion for more insights into Palworld's development and future.
For more on Palworld, stay tuned to IGN for the latest updates and in-depth coverage.
