Palworld Pokémon mod creator delays release after DMCA takedown: “Nintendo has come for me”

Palworld’s first major mod project is on hold for now.

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What you need to know

If you’ve been keeping up with the latest news on Pocketpair’s hit survival creature collection “Pokémon with guns” gamePalworldthat came to Xbox and PC last week, you’re probably aware that gaming YouTuberToastedShoesis putting together a mod for the Steam version that turns all 113 of its Pal creatures intoactualPokémon (and your player character into Ash Ketchum). A teaser video posted on Monday generated a ton of hype, with ToastedShoes promising that a full video on the project would come a day later.

Well, thenew videois here — you can watch it through the embed below — but thanks to a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown,the originalis gone. Though there’s no official documentation of where the strike actually came from, it’s all-but-clear that Nintendo, the owner of the Pokémon franchise, was behind it.

As a result of the copyright notice, ToastedShoes has chosen to delay the mod’s public release. While he and its other creators still want to publish it at some point, they “want to tread lightly” and avoid further issues with Nintendo.

“Nintendo has come for me, please leave me in your thoughts and prayers,“wrote ToastedShoes on X(Twitter) in response to the takedown. Then, in a laterpost: “I’ve been getting a large influx of people asking where they can get the mod etc. We want to release it for free to everyone, however due to Nintendo sending a DMCA over the last tweet we want to tread lightly for the time being.”

Will Nintendo go after Palworld itself?

-Palworld FAQ-Palworld review-7 Palworld beginner’s tips-Palworld dedicated servers-Is Palworld on Xbox Game Pass?

This news comes in the wake of the ongoingPalworld AI controversy and Pokémon plagiarism accusationslevied against it. Artists and gamers on social media have raked developer Pocketpair over the coals for using models and designs that bear striking similarities to official Pokémon artwork and assets from the 2022 Nintendo Switch game Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Right now, all eyes are on Nintendo, with everyone wondering if its infamously litigious lawyers will attempt to make a case against Palworld and Pocketpair in court. Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe, though, says the game “cleared legal reviews,” and that no action has yet been taken against it.

“We make our games very seriously, and we have absolutely no intention of infringing upon the intellectual property of other companies,” Mizobe said whilespeaking with Automaton.

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Notably, a Nintendo representative recentlyspoke with Bloombergand confirmed that the company “is aware of” Palworld. However, they declined to comment, as did a spokeswoman for The Pokémon Company.

Palworld became an instant success story after its Early Access release late last week, and has only continued to soar ever since. Pocketpair says6 million copies were sold in just four days, andthe game broke 1.8 million concurrent players this morning, making it the second most-played game in Steam history.

While Palworld is available on Steam as well as Xbox and the Microsoft Store, the two versions of the game are quite different. The Xbox/MS Store edition is playable throughXbox Game Pass, butwill have missing features until Pocketpair gets through Microsoft’s update certification. It also doesn’t support joining or creating dedicated servers, limiting multiplayer to 4-player co-op rather than the 32-player lobbies you can enjoy on Steam.

Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he’s been an avid fan since childhood. He’s been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you’ll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he’s not writing or gaming, there’s a good chance he’s either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once.Follow him on X(Twitter).