Palworld Developers Reject 'Pokemon With Guns' Label

When you think of Palworld, the phrase that likely springs to mind is "Pokemon with guns." This shorthand, widely used across the internet, propelled the game to fame by juxtaposing two seemingly incongruent concepts. Even we at IGN and everyone else adopted this phrase to quickly convey the essence of the game to newcomers. However, according to Pocketpair's communications director and publishing manager, John 'Bucky' Buckley, this was never the intended takeaway. In fact, Buckley expressed at the Game Developers Conference that the team at Pocketpair is not fond of this moniker.

Buckley shared that Palworld was first revealed to the world in June 2021 at the Indie Live Expo, an indie gaming event in Japan. The initial reception from the Japanese audience was overwhelmingly positive. However, as Western media caught wind of the game, it was quickly labeled as a 'certain franchise' plus guns—a tag that has persisted despite efforts to distance the game from this comparison.

In a subsequent interview, Buckley elaborated that Pokemon was never part of the original pitch for Palworld. While the development team includes fans of Pokemon, and the game does feature monster-collecting elements, the true inspiration was ARK: Survival Evolved. "A lot of us are huge ARK people," Buckley explained, highlighting how their previous game, Craftopia, also drew from ARK's mechanics. The goal with Palworld was to expand on ARK's concept by focusing more on automation and giving each creature a distinct personality and abilities.

Despite the team's initial displeasure with the "Pokemon with guns" label, Buckley acknowledges that it significantly contributed to Palworld's success. He mentioned that Dave Oshry from New Blood Interactive even trademarked "Pokemonwithguns.com," which further fueled the game's viral spread. Buckley admits that while the label did help in gaining attention, it misrepresents the game's actual gameplay. He encourages players to give Palworld a chance before forming opinions based solely on the catchy phrase.

Buckley also pointed out that Palworld's audience does not significantly overlap with Pokemon's, suggesting ARK as a more apt comparison. He believes that the notion of competition in the gaming industry is often exaggerated for marketing purposes. "I've gotten in trouble for ranting about the ‘console wars’ before," he said, emphasizing that the real competition is more about timing than direct rivalry between games.

If given the chance to choose a different viral tagline, Buckley humorously suggested, "Palworld: It's Kind of Like ARK if ARK Met Factorio and Happy Tree Friends." While acknowledging that it doesn't roll off the tongue as easily as "Pokemon with guns," he believes it more accurately reflects the game's unique blend of influences.

Buckley and I also spoke about the potential of Palworld coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, the possibility of Pocketpair being acquired, and more in our detailed interview, which you can read in full here.