Play Pikachu and friends in Palworld? A modder wanted to make it possible, but Nintendo intervened. (Image: Pocket Pair)
Just five days ago, on January 19, 2024, Palworld was released. A survival crafting game where you can fight, catch and make monsters work for you. The gameplay is so well received that there are already six million players in Palworld.
Many people are reminded of Pokémon by the design of the monsters, even if they aren’t really Pokémon. However, it was only a matter of time before the first modders wanted to change the Pokémon-free status quo. But Nintendo’s lawyers are probably already in the starting blocks.
Pokémon mod for Palworld – that is known
Yesterday (January 22, 2024), the Youtuber ToastedShoes reported on a mod that was supposed to bring the well-known Pokémon into the new Steam hit and make them playable there. With this mod you could catch your favorite Pokémon and equip them with assault rifles.
Sounds funny? It certainly would have been, but it happened as it had to happen: the video, which already showed scenes from Palworld with various Pokémon, has disappeared from YouTube.
Here you can see the original X-post from ToastedShoes, in which he shared the video about the mod:
Link to Twitter content
What could be seen? In the video you could see the game character who looked like Ash from the Pokémon anime. Also Pikachus, who break stones with pickaxes, Misty and Brock and many other well-known animals and characters.
Toasted Shoes themselves described the mod in the video as an “overhaul” that turns “everything” into Pokémon.
What does Nintendo have to say about this? There is no official statement yet, but since the video has disappeared from ToastedShoes’ channel, it can be assumed that Nintendo did not agree with the mod project.
It wouldn’t be the first time that Nintendo modders or people behind Sued for fan projects.
ToastedShoes itself writes about this on Twitter – with a pinch of humor:
»Nintendo has come for me, please leave me in your thoughts and prayers«
That means something like “Nintendo got me, please think of me and pray for me”
Link to Twitter content
Would similar (less controversial) mods be conceivable in the future? There is currently no mod support for Palworld, but the developers have one Steam-FAQ announced that they are working on it.
They haven’t revealed when that will happen.
In the future, similar mods like the Pokémon mod could be conceivable, but you shouldn’t expect foreign franchises. Especially not from Nintendo.
