Palworld Developers Reject 'Pokemon With Guns' Label

When you think of Palworld, the immediate association many have is "Pokemon with guns." This catchy, albeit reductive, phrase took off when the game first gained widespread attention, fueling its viral rise by merging two seemingly incongruous concepts. Even outlets like IGN, along with countless others, latched onto this description to quickly convey the game's essence to newcomers. However, according to John 'Bucky' Buckley, Pocketpair's communications director and publishing manager, this wasn't the intended takeaway. In a talk at the Game Developers Conference, Buckley expressed that Pocketpair doesn't particularly love this label, which has stuck with the game since its initial reveal at the Indie Live Expo in Japan in June 2021.

In a follow-up interview, Buckley clarified that Pokemon was never central to their pitch. While the development team includes fans of Pokemon, their primary inspiration was ARK: Survival Evolved. Buckley explained that Palworld aimed to expand on the survival and crafting elements of ARK, with a focus on automation and giving each creature unique abilities and personalities. He noted, "A lot of us are huge ARK people, and our previous game, Craftopia, kind of has some stuff in it that we really loved from ARK and some ideas from ARK. So we wanted to just take that and make it bigger." Despite their efforts to steer away from the "Pokemon with guns" moniker, it undeniably contributed to the game's success. Buckley acknowledged this, citing instances like Dave Oshry from New Blood Interactive trademarking 'Pokemonwithguns.com' as examples of how this label fueled the game's popularity.

Yet, Buckley emphasized that Palworld isn't about competing with Pokemon or any other game. He believes that the notion of competition in the gaming industry is often exaggerated for marketing purposes. "I don't really think there is competition in games. I mean, there's so many games right now. How can you be in competition with one or two? It doesn't really make sense anymore," he remarked. Instead, he views the real challenge as timing releases amidst the vast array of available games. Buckley also mentioned that a significant portion of Palworld players also purchased Helldivers 2 upon its release, further highlighting the diverse interests of gamers.

If Buckley could choose a different viral tagline for Palworld, he humorously suggested, "Palworld: It's Kind of Like ARK if ARK Met Factorio and Happy Tree Friends." While admitting it doesn't roll off the tongue as easily as "Pokemon with guns," this description better reflects the game's unique blend of survival, crafting, and creature management elements.

In our broader conversation, Buckley touched on the potential for Palworld on the Nintendo Switch 2, the possibility of Pocketpair being acquired, and other topics. You can dive into the full discussion for more insights into Palworld's development and future plans.