Everyone’s favourite totally-not-Pokemon game, Palworld, is the type of game that seems like it was created to be a mobile game and sap our batteries like it’s been draining our free time.
However, regardless of how perfect it would be to play while sitting at the doctor’s or during that particularly dull work meeting, the developers have posted a warning on X:
There are no real Palworld mobile apps, but plenty of fakes out there could land you in trouble.
[Warning]
There is no Palworld application for phones. Apps using names and product images such as "パルワールド" and "Palworld" are appearing on the AppStore and Google Play, but they are not affiliated with our company in any way.We have reported this issue to Apple, which…
— Palworld (@Palworld_EN) January 31, 2024
“There is no Palworld application for phones, Apps using names and product images such as ‘パルワールド’ and ‘Palworld’ are appearing on the AppStore and Google Play, but they are not affiliated with our company in any way.
We have reported this issue to Apple, which operates the App Store, and Google, which operates Google Play. Please be aware that downloading these apps may lead to the leakage of personal information stored on your smartphone or to fraud.”
Palworld is just another popular game subject to the notorious mobile-game knockoff trend we’ve been seeing more and more of lately.
And while most of these are cheap, lazy cash grabs sometimes, albeit rarely, these games manage to become a hit themselves, much like the Among Us clone Werewolf Among Us, which became a significant hit in the mobile world back in 2020.
It’s also ironic that the developers of Palworld are complaining about people knocking off their game when many believe that that is precisely what they did to Pokemon.
However, jokes aside, there is a distinction to be made. Up until now, Palworld has proven time and time again that the game is different enough from Pokemon to avoid a lawsuit by notoriously trigger happy Pokémon Company, and the mobile game knockoffs popping up using both the name and official art from Palworld, which is a whole different type of “inspiration”.
But now I want to know your opinion on mobile game clones. Let me know in the comments.