Palworld dev finds common ground with Nintendo, dismisses use of generative AI: "Our artists draw thousands of sketches"

Palworld has more in common with Pokemon than just its adorable little monsters.

After seemingly dodging Nintendo's legal ire, the Palword devs are now defending themselves on another front, dismissing accusations that they use generative AI in the game.

People online have been accusing Pocketpair of using generative AI to create Palworld's Pokemon-like creatures since launch, largely without evidence, and it seems the company's CEO, Takuro Mizobe, has had enough. In a tweet promoting to the August 2024 issue of Japanese magazine CGWORLD (via Automaton), in which he is interviewed, Mizobe shuts down the rumors in no uncertain terms.

"Palworld is often accused of using generative AI, but in reality, we do not use it," he said. "Our artists draw thousands of sketches. [The magazine feature] introduces part of our Pal creation process, so anyone interested should have a look!"

Of course, perhaps even more vocal than the AI accusers have been the folks criticizing Palworld for the likeness of its monsters to Pokemon, and shortly after the former launched, The Pokemon Company seemed to imply it was looking into a potential copyright violation. However, as recently as late June Pocketpair said it hadn't heard anything from Nintendo about Palworld.

Coincidentally, Nintendo itself recently commented on the growing presence of generative AI in video games. Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said the company doesn't need to use AI because it has "decades of know-how" and doesn't want any "issues with intellectual property rights". 

Palworld makes another play for Pokemon's crown with an anime and merch-focused partnership with Sony - despite the lack of a PS5 version of the hit survival game.