Palworld has become an instant sensation thanks to being known as the definitive “Pokémon with Guns” game. It has sold over 3 million copies in less than 2 days of release, which is crazy considering it’s available on Game Pass. What’s more, it landed in the top 5 most-played games on Steam.
Despite being made by a Japanese developer, the project is completely separate from Game Freak and Nintendo, not having anything to do with the franchise it is inspired by.
Instead, Palworld is made by Pocket Pair, and created with action-adventure survival mechanics. Still, the game has been met with plagiarism accusations. Of course, the aesthetics look and feel just like Pokémon. You also throw balls to capture the creatures. However, the rest of it is where the experience differs.
Pocket Pair previously made Craftopia, which was clearly inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Their next title, Never Grave, looks to be inspired by Hollow Knight.
The company’s first and third-party servers have struggled to handle the demand of so many players getting into co-op. The concurrent player count on Steam continues to rise, and even G-Portal, a self-paid service that lets you rent your own server, is unstable.