“These are incredible times,” declared the CEO of Pocketpair, accusing Chinese game businesses of creating Palworld clones.
The CEO of PocketPair, Takuro Mizobe, shared a screenshot of the PC and mobile game Auroria in a tweet that Automaton translated. He also included the following statement:
A Palworld clone game is already in development by Tencent! Many Chinese companies are working on mobile Palworld clones at the same time, with budgets around 10 billion yen, which is ten times more than Palworld’s. It’s possible that a lot of Genshin Impact-level creatures, or bishojo, will be raising games next year. These are amazing times.
Auroria is a game developed by Tianjin Wumai Technology Co., Ltd., a Chinese studio. It has pages on both the Steam and mobile stores. Auroria is an open-world, cooperative, multiplayer sandbox game where you create your own base, “survive with your pals,” and begin your own interstellar journey “in a relaxed and fun way,” according to the game’s description.
Auroria sounds and looks a lot like Palworld, only set in space, judging on screenshots and trailers. It is scheduled for release by the end of June, 2024, during the second quarter.
Automaton claims that Tencent and HK Hero Entertainment Co., Limited are the publishers of Auroria. Mizobe mentioned Tencent in his comments, and it seems that the company is developing a mobile game similar to Palwords, albeit it’s not the only one. Palworld and Once Human by NetEase Games have also been likened. All of this is reportedly a part of a push for new hits as current cash cows become less appealing.
Naturally, Pocketpair was charged with “ripping off” Pokémon with Palworld, which is sometimes referred to as “Pokémon with guns.” After launching in January, Palworld quickly rose to prominence, breaking records as the largest third-party game launch ever on Xbox Game Pass in addition to Steam. With 15 million copies sold on Steam and 10 million gamers on Xbox, the $30 game “Pokémon with guns” has amassed an astounding 25 million players to date. According to Mizobe, the corporation was unable to manage the enormous profits that Palworld had made.
Palworld is one of the most anticipated game releases ever, but it’s also one of the most divisive. Pocketpair has rejected the Pokémon “rip-off” allegations, but it has stated that its employees have received death threats. The Pokemon Company released a statement shortly after debut, stating: “We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to Pokémon.” Nintendo also moved immediately to remove an eye-catching Pokémon mod. IGN questioned attorneys on Nintendo’s chances of winning a lawsuit.