Palworld Devs Reject 'Pokemon With Guns' Label

When you think of Palworld, the immediate association many people make is "Pokemon with guns." This shorthand became popular when the game first gained traction, contributing to its viral success due to the intriguing mix of two seemingly disparate concepts. Even IGN, like many others, used this phrase to describe the game, making it an easy way for newcomers to grasp its essence.

However, according to John 'Bucky' Buckley, the communications director and publishing manager at Pocketpair, the "Pokemon with guns" label was never the intended focus. Speaking at the Game Developers Conference, Buckley expressed that the team doesn't particularly love this moniker. Palworld was first revealed in June 2021 at the Indie Live Expo in Japan, where it received a warm reception from the local audience. Soon after, Western media latched onto the game and quickly branded it as a mix of a "certain franchise" and guns, a tag that has stuck despite efforts to move past it.

In an interview following his talk, Buckley clarified that Pokemon was never a core part of the game's pitch. While the development team includes fans of Pokemon and acknowledged the similarities in monster collecting, their primary inspiration was ARK: Survival Evolved. Buckley noted that many on the team were fans of ARK, and their previous game, Craftopia, drew inspiration from it. The goal with Palworld was to expand on the ARK concept by focusing more on automation and giving each creature unique personalities and abilities.

Despite their reservations about the "Pokemon with guns" label, Buckley admitted it played a significant role in Palworld's success. The phrase even led to actions like Dave Oshry from New Blood Interactive trademarking "Pokemonwithguns.com." While the label helped drive initial interest, Buckley emphasized that it doesn't accurately reflect the gameplay experience. He encourages players to try the game before forming an opinion based solely on the viral tagline.

Buckley also doesn't see Pokemon as a direct competitor to Palworld, pointing out that the audience crossover isn't substantial. He views ARK as a closer parallel and doesn't believe Palworld is in direct competition with other games, including Helldivers 2, which many Palworld players also purchased. He criticized the concept of "console wars" and the manufactured competition in the gaming industry, suggesting that games today are more in competition with release timing than with each other.

If Buckley could have chosen a different tagline, he suggested something like "Palworld: It's Kind of Like ARK if ARK Met Factorio and Happy Tree Friends." While he admits it's not as catchy, it more accurately reflects the game's inspirations and unique elements.

In our interview, Buckley and I also discussed the potential for Palworld on the Nintendo Switch 2, the possibility of Pocketpair being acquired, and other topics, which you can read about in full here.