Palworld devs faced "so many challenges" in the survival game's first year as pre-launch attention "brought its own difficulties" and post-launch "accusations" were "a lot to handle"

Palworld designer and community manager John "Bucky" Buckley has been speaking out about the "many challenges" faced by developer Pocketpair before and after the hit survival game's early-access launch, including the "countless accusations" which proved "a lot to handle" on top of everything else.

In a new interview with Eurogamer, Bucky admits: "There were so many challenges, to be honest." This wasn't just after the game actually released, though, as he explains: "Pre-launch, we started gaining traction online, which was new for us and brought its own difficulties. Post-launch, we faced server problems, bug reporting issues, countless accusations... It was a lot to handle."

The "accusations" in question likely revolve around the many comparisons to Pokemon that were made by players. Even from its reveal, people were quick to unofficially rename Palworld to "Pokemon with guns," and, after it actually released, certain Pal designs were scrutinized online as fans pointed out similarities between them and existing Pokemon. For example, the fox-like Foxcicle turned heads after being compared to Glaceon and Alolan Ninetales.

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Developer Pocketpair has – on multiple occasions – shut down accusations of the team using generative AI to create its Pal designs, with CEO Takuro Mizobe saying "we do not use it," and "our artists draw thousands of sketches." Bucky himself also previously stated: "We didn't AI generate any Pals. Our artists are fantastic and we're so lucky to have them."

While Nintendo and The Pokemon Company ended up filing a lawsuit against Pocketpair, it's worth keeping in mind that this wasn't over any issues with Pal designs. Instead, it was alleged that Pocketpair had infringed on three patents, one of which essentially seems to describe Pokeball-like catching mechanics. An update to Palworld last month made a few small tweaks to the survival game's Pal Spheres (basically, Pokeball equivalents), which appeared to distance it more from Game Freak's creature-collecting RPG series.

Thankfully for Pocketpair, even though Bucky says the issues he mentions "haven't entirely gone away, they've definitely become more manageable." The company even announced its own publishing business yesterday – its first project is a horror game from Tales of Kenzera: ZAU developer Surgent Studios.

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I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.