The anticipated response from Nintendo to the Palworld Pokémon mod was swift, as expected. The modder, however, has retaliated promptly with a new download that replaces Palworld’s amicable Pals with entirely original “legally distinct” and “legit copyright-free” pocket creatures.
In the previous week, YouTuber ToastedShoes took the Pokémon resemblances in Palworld to an extreme by introducing an unlicensed Pokémon mod. The mod’s footage lingered on the internet for approximately a day before Nintendo took action to remove it.
The Pokémon Company swiftly addressed the situation, expressing its intent to “investigate and take appropriate measures” against anything that might violate its copyright. Meanwhile, modding hub Nexus Mods issued a statement confirming its decision not to host Pokémon-themed Palworld mods due to the potential “headache of DMCA/legal threats from Nintendo.”
Undeterred by these developments, Toasted proceeded to release a new mod called “The legally-distinct pocket creatures into Palworld Mod Pack” on Nexus Mods earlier today.
This mod pack transforms the player character into a custom ToastedShoes character sporting a red and white cap, distinctly different from the one worn by Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum. Some of the Pals in Palworld have been replaced with well-known classic pocket creatures such as Blue Penguin, Floral Raptor, and, of course, Yellow Rat.
Toasted has shared a 10-minute video showcasing the mod pack in action, providing a glimpse of all the favorite legally-distinct pocket creatures seamlessly integrated into Palworld.
Despite the ongoing drama, Palworld continues to enjoy widespread popularity. The developer, Pocketpair, issued an apology for server connection issues over the weekend and pledged to address cheaters on official servers. Impressively, over 2 million concurrent players have been actively engaging with the game online through Steam alone.
