The boss of Pocketpair has accused Chinese game companies of making Palworld clones, saying: “These are incredible times.”
In a tweet translated by Automaton, Takuro Mizobe, CEO of PocketPair, published a screenshot of a mobile and PC game called Auroria, alongside the following statement:
“Tencent is already making a Palworld clone game! In China, many companies are simultaneously developing mobile clones of Palworld, and the budgets are in the 10 billion yen-range, 10 times larger than Palworld’s… Next year, we might see many Genshin Impact-level creature (or bishojo) raising games… These are incredible times.”
テンセントが早速パルワールドのクローンゲーム作ってる！
中国では各社が一斉にパルワールドのモバイル向けクローンを開発していて、しかも予算規模はパルワールドの10倍の100億円級・・・来年は原神クオリティのモンスター（または美少女）育成ゲームが大量にリリースされそう・・・
すごい時代 pic.twitter.com/RKqLz2RGOH
— Takuro Mizobe | Palworld (@urokuta_ja) April 16, 2024
Auroria, which has a Steam page as well as mobile store pages, is developed by Chinese studio Tianjin Wumai Technology Co., Ltd. According to its description, Auroria is an open-world, multiplayer, and cooperative sandbox game in which you design a base, “survive with your pals,” and start your own interstellar travel “in a relaxed and fun way.”
Auroria sounds and, based on screenshots and trailers, looks a lot like Palworld but in a space setting. It’s set for release at some point during the second quarter of 2024, so by the end of June.
According to Automaton, Auroria is published by HK Hero Entertainment Co., Limited, and Tencent. Tencent, namechecked by Mizobe in his statement, is reportedly working on a Palword-style mobile game, but it’s not the only one. NetEase Games’ Once Human has also been compared to Palworld. This is all part of a reported drive for fresh hits as existing cash cows lose their luster.
As for Pocketpair, it was of course accused of “ripping off” Pokémon with Palworld, which is often described as “Pokémon with guns.” Palworld launched in January and overnight became one of the biggest games in the world, setting records not only on Steam but on Xbox Game Pass, where it is the biggest third-party game launch ever. So far, the $30 ‘Pokémon with guns’ game has seen an incredible 25 million players, with 15 million copies sold on Steam and 10 million players on Xbox. Mizobe has said the company couldn’t handle the massive profits Palworld has generated.
While Palworld is one of the biggest game launches ever, it’s also one of the most controversial. Pocketpair has said its staff has received death threats amid the Pokémon “rip-off” claims, which it has denied. Soon after launch, Nintendo moved quickly to remove an eye-catching Pokémon mod, then The Pokemon Company issued a statement, saying: “We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to Pokémon.” IGN asked lawyers whether Nintendo could successfully sue.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.