Palworld Devs Reject 'Pokemon With Guns' Label

When you think of Palworld, the immediate association for many is "Pokemon with guns." This shorthand became widely used when the game surged in popularity, largely due to the intriguing mix of two seemingly disparate concepts. Even we at IGN and many others have utilized this phrase to quickly convey the game's premise to those unfamiliar with it.

However, according to Pocketpair's communications director and publishing manager, John 'Bucky' Buckley, this was never the intended takeaway. In fact, Buckley expressed during a talk at the Game Developers Conference that Pocketpair doesn't particularly love the moniker. He highlighted how the game was first revealed at the Indie Live Expo in Japan in June 2021, receiving a warm reception from the local audience. Yet, as soon as Western media caught wind of it, Palworld was quickly labeled as a "certain franchise" plus guns—a label that has persisted despite efforts to shake it off.

In an interview following his talk, Buckley elaborated that Pokemon was never part of the initial pitch. Although the development team includes fans of the game who recognized the monster-collecting similarities, their goal was to create something more akin to ARK: Survival Evolved. Buckley explained that many team members were avid ARK players and drew inspiration from their previous game, Craftopia, which incorporated elements they loved from ARK. The vision was to enhance the automation aspect and give each creature a unique personality and abilities, much like ARK's dinosaurs but with a twist.

Buckley acknowledged that the "Pokemon with guns" label did contribute to Palworld's success. He mentioned that Dave Oshry from New Blood Interactive even trademarked "Pokemonwithguns.com," which fueled the game's viral spread. However, Buckley expressed frustration that some still believe this is an accurate representation of the game without having played it. He emphasized that Palworld is not remotely similar to Pokemon in gameplay and encouraged players to give it a chance before forming an opinion.

Moreover, Buckley doesn't see Pokemon as a direct competitor to Palworld, citing a lack of significant audience crossover and pointing to ARK as a more fitting comparison. He also dismissed the notion of competition in the gaming industry as largely manufactured, suggesting that the real challenge lies in timing releases rather than competing with specific games. Even the success of Helldivers 2, which many Palworld players also purchased, didn't feel like direct competition to him.

If Buckley could choose a different viral tagline for Palworld, he suggested, "Palworld: It's Kind of Like ARK if ARK Met Factorio and Happy Tree Friends." He admitted, however, that this doesn't quite have the same catchy appeal as "Pokemon with guns."

In our interview, Buckley and I also discussed the potential for Palworld to come to the Nintendo Switch 2, the possibility of Pocketpair being acquired, and more. You can read the full discussion right here.