Palworld Developers Reject 'Pokemon With Guns' Label

When you think of Palworld, the phrase "Pokemon with guns" might immediately come to mind. This catchy, if reductive, shorthand became popular when the game first gained traction, likely boosting its visibility thanks to the intriguing blend of two seemingly disparate concepts. Even we at IGN have used this phrase, as have many others. It was a convenient way to quickly convey the game's premise to those unfamiliar with it.

However, according to John 'Bucky' Buckley, Pocketpair's communications director and publishing manager, the "Pokemon with guns" label was never the intended takeaway. In fact, Buckley expressed at the Game Developers Conference that Pocketpair isn't particularly fond of this moniker. He highlighted that the game was first revealed in June 2021 at the Indie Live Expo in Japan, where it received a warm reception. But soon after, Western media latched onto the game, branding it as a mix of a "certain franchise" and guns—a label that has stuck despite efforts to move away from it.

In a follow-up interview, Buckley elaborated that the original pitch for Palworld was not inspired by Pokemon, despite the team being fans of the game and recognizing the similarities in monster collecting. Instead, the game drew heavily from ARK: Survival Evolved. Buckley 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." The goal was to enhance the creatures with more personality, abilities, and uniqueness, akin to ARK but with added automation and distinct creature features.

Buckley acknowledges that the "Pokemon with guns" label did help Palworld gain significant attention. He mentioned an instance where Dave Oshry from New Blood Interactive even trademarked "Pokemonwithguns.com," fueling the game's viral spread. While he's okay with the phrase being used casually, Buckley is frustrated by those who believe it accurately describes the gameplay without giving the game a fair chance.

He also believes that Pokemon isn't a direct competitor to Palworld, pointing out that the audiences for the two games don't significantly overlap. Instead, he sees ARK as a closer parallel, though he doesn't feel Palworld is in direct competition with any specific game, including Helldivers 2, which many Palworld players also purchased. Buckley argues that the concept of competition in gaming is often exaggerated for marketing purposes, stating, "Almost like a meta-marketing kind of strategy. 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. We're just always in competition with the timing [of releases] more than anything, I think."

If Buckley could choose a different tagline for Palworld, he suggested, "Palworld: It's Kind of Like ARK if ARK Met Factorio and Happy Tree Friends." While he admits it doesn't roll off the tongue as easily as "Pokemon with guns," it more accurately reflects the game's inspiration and unique elements.

Buckley and I also spoke about the possibility of Palworld coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, whether Pocketpair would ever be acquired, and much more in our interview. You can read the full discussion right here.