Pokemon and Palworld clone Pickmon changes its name by one letter to "better align with our brand identity and lore"

Last month, the world was introduced to Pickmon, a creature-collecting, survival-crafting game that looks an awful lot like Palworld, complete with some monster designs that look incredibly similar to certain Pokemon. Now, though, developer PocketGame (not Pocketpair) has announced it's changing the game's name.

Considering how akin the game looks to those two established creature collectors, you might have expected quite a drastic change here to help fend off any comparisons, perhaps in an attempt to leave any negative reactions it faced following its reveal behind, finding a fresh start under a new alias. Not so, however – in fact, the only thing that's changed is the letter 'n'.

From now on, Pickmon is officially called Pickmos, which PocketGame explains in a statement shared on Steam and Twitter is to "better align with our brand identity and lore." According to the devs, the "mos" in Pickmos represents "a complete Ecosystem" and "grand Cosmos," and the whole name "carries a more powerful presence, acting as a better vessel for the fantasy adventure we are building for you."

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The statement clarifies that "we cute creatures, are still collectively known as Pickmon," so the term hasn't been abandoned completely – although I'm just now wondering if the phrasing there suggests this statement is meant to be from the Pickmon themselves. …Does that imply that the Pickmon are developing their own game? I have many questions.

Anyway, looking through the Pickmon – uh, Pickmos – Twitter account, there's still a lot of continued back and forth between PocketGame and users who are arguing certain creature designs are just too familiar to fly, especially one that a Pokemon fan artist previously alleged Pickmos "stole" from their unofficial Mega Meganium "Fakemon" art. Going back to last month, the developer responded to a user who suggested that some Pickmon be redesigned, saying: "Our team has your feedback and we'll be adjusting those points as you suggested." In fact, replying to another user alleging that the developer is a "thief," it writes: "Our Art Director got your feedback. We're working on adjusting the art style now."

However, more recent posts take a slightly different approach. "Could you please ask Mr. Fakemon to provide proof of the trademark rights for the designs in question?" it writes. "Our designs are handled by a professional team that manages all trademark filings. Our team has searched the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) database and found no record of Mr. Fakemon's company holding trademarks for the creatures shown in your images. If there are any legitimate concerns, our legal counsel will coordinate with our Art Director to make the necessary adjustments."

Then, replying to a user sharing a screenshot of the aforementioned fan artist's work, PocketGame says: "Please ask Mr. Fakemon to provide this proof. I will immediately coordinate with our Art Director to address the situation." Further responding to the artist themselves, PocketGame simply advises them to stop using the Pokemon logo in their work, and then later goes on to say that the information provided by them is "insufficient," adding: "As the publisher, we are unable to determine whether there are grounds for defamation or infringement."

Frankly, it's all a little weird, but it's clear the name change isn't going to make folks forget about this design controversy so easily.

Pocketpair publishing head reacts to Pokemon and Palworld ripoff Pickmon for the first time: "Someone is a fan of the genre, I guess."