Wesley Yin-Poole
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A Pocketpair developer has issued a response after some Pokémon fans questioned the timing of the company's Palworld: Palfarm announcement, which came just a week after Nintendo revealed Pokémon Pokopia.
Japanese company Pocketpair announced cozy farming sim spinoff Palworld: Palfarm for PC just a week after Nintendo announced fellow cozy farming sim spinoff Pokémon Pokopia for Switch 2 during its Nintendo Direct showcase.
According to Pocketpair, in Palworld: Palfarm you work alongside Pals to turn fields into full-functioning farms solo or in online multiplayer. “Delegate duties to plant seeds, tend to growing plants, and round up the harvest,” Pocketpair said. “Befriend the locals and unearth unexpected story arcs. Beware, the coziness can turn chaotic — watch out for wild Pals that pilfer fresh produce.”
Pokémon Pokopia, meanwhile, due out on Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026, is described as a life simulation game “where players can create their own Pokémon paradise.” The game features Ditto as its protagonist, who has transformed to look like a human. “As Ditto, players can explore and learn moves from the Pokémon they befriend — such as Bulbasaur’s Leafage to grow greenery, or Squirtle’s Water Gun to revive dried-up plants — expanding their capabilities and helping them create an inviting environment to attract a variety of Pokémon,” Nintendo explained.
“Players can collect materials, build furniture, grow vegetables, and create homes for Pokémon, allowing them to experience a cozy, slow life with Pokémon — one that they build themselves from the ground up. Over time, players can develop a town of their own and invite other players or Pokémon to visit. Pokémon Pokopia also features a day-night cycle linked to real-world time, changing weather, and in-game locations with their own unique characteristics.”
Some were quick to question the timing of Palworld: Palfarm's announcement, despite the fact games take years to make and reveals are planned long in advance. "The timing of this just after the Pokémon Pokopia announcement. They got balls, I respect that," said redditor Sweaty_Molasses_3899. "They probably felt they needed to announce this earlier than they might have wanted simply to get ahead of accusations of 'copying' their idea for a farm-sim game after Pokopia got announced," suggested KJShen. "I feel like this announcement is to spite Nintendo for their recent bs," added Brohtworst. "Can't be a coincidence they'd develop something so similar to Pokopia." "It's so uninspired to make a game that's more about one upping a company than actually making something good," declared stcrIight.
Now, Pocketpair communications director and publishing manager John “Bucky” Buckley, who has become the face of the company for western fans, has issued a response on social media, saying “the tinfoil hats are out in force.”
“A certain % of silliness and grumpy people were expected when announcing Palfarm, and a smaller % of "REEEE POCKETPAIR" was expected too…” Bucky said.
“But I'm surprised how many people think we're wizard-level developers able to make a game in one week.
“The tinfoil hats are out in force
”Then: “There is a certain level of poetic irony… the same people who "REEE POCKETPAIR" are the same people thinking we made an entire game in one week.
“Schrödinger's Pocketpair I guess. We are both a ‘slop company’ and capable of making entire games in one week it seems
”This is of course a reference to the copying accusations Palworld itself suffered following its explosive launch early in 2024. Fans dubbed the game ‘Pokémon with guns’ due to similarities between some of the mechanics. Nintendo and The Pokémon Company eventually sued Pocketpair in a patent case that is still ongoing.
Last week, Pocketpair said it was heads down getting Palworld ready to leave early access and officially release its 1.0 update at some point in 2026. Palworld will launch proper next year alongside what sounds like a huge update, which Pocketpair is now focusing on.
All the while, Nintendo has been busy obtaining patents — some of which IP lawyers said should never have been granted — as it develops its case against Pocketpair, which has vowed to defend itself in court.
The case involves three patents granted by the Japan Patent Office: two related to monster capture and release, and one related to riding characters. All three patents were filed in 2024, after Palworld came out. However, they are actually derived from earlier Nintendo patents dating from 2021. In other words, it seems that once Palworld came on the scene, Nintendo filed divisional patents that were geared to fight specifically against Palworld’s alleged infringement of the original patents.
Since then, Pocketpair has made changes to Palworld’s disputed mechanics. The November 2024 patch removed the ability to summon Pals by throwing Pokéball-like Pal Spheres (now Pals just materialize next to you when summoned). In May this year, another Palworld update changed how you can glide in the game — instead of directly grabbing onto Glider Pals, now you just simply use Pal-buffed Glider equipment. Then, in July, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company reworded one of the patents in the case.
At GDC in March, IGN sat down for an extended conversation with Bucky following his talk at the conference, 'Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop.' During that talk, Buckley went into candid detail about a number of Palworld’s struggles, especially the accusations of it using generative AI (which Pocketpair has since debunked pretty soundly) and stealing Pokemon’s models for its own Pals. He even commented on Nintendo’s patent infringement lawsuit against the studio, saying it “came as a shock” and was “something that no one even considered.”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].