Palworld is the video game success story of 2024. Well, of January. But the jury is still out on whether PocketPair’s survival game can keep players coming back with future updates as it fights accusations of plagiarism. The game isn’t original. There’s a reason we described it with the easy shorthand ‘Pokemon With Guns’.

It’s straight to the point and instantly compelling, and by the time many had picked up a copy and realised you’d be farming for dozens of hours before even using a gun, Palworld’s success was already guaranteed. A Game Pass launch and plenty of discourse is likely working in its favour too, with the game dominating headlines in a quiet time of the year when all the big hitters are still preparing for launch. It’s a winner, whether we like it or not.

Its success also tells us so much about not only the state of modern video games, but trends that we gravitate towards and the fleeting permanence of survival games that capture the imagination of millions one minute, and cease to exist the next. Palworld is the only thing many media outlets and enthusiasts can talk about as millions continue to pick the game up, while evolving drama around whether it stole models directly from Pokemon or is making use of generative AI remains on the tip of everyone’s tongue. There are myriad new things to take from the popularity of Palworld, and it all starts with the beautiful well of drama.

Why is everybody so mad about Palworld?

I don’t tend to use Twitter much anymore, lacking the mental energy to engage in whatever discourse emerges on any given day, let alone contribute to pointless arguments with strangers about a video game I have no interest in playing. Normally these concern whether Dark Souls is in need of an easy mode or if Abby from The Last of Us 2 will herald the eventual demise of Western civilization. Relatively normal points of discussion that I can overlook because it’s made abundantly clear that there’s nothing to be gained from it.

Palworld was different though. It wasn’t just arguing for the sake of it, and even if the claims of plagiarism or use of AI were generally unsubstantiated, it’s hard to deny that folks weren’t coming from a good place as they pointed them out. I'm even wary of supporting it until the fog has dissipated. It is an inherently unoriginal game, one that has used its playful imitation of Pokemon as a marketing gimmick from the very beginning. The fact that eagle-eyed observers have also lined up 3D models from both games with suspicious levels of accuracy paints Palworld as not only an unoriginal game, but also a potentially dishonest one.

There was a lot of noise in the week of launch, with millions of people dismissing a lack of originality and diving in anyway, while others decried the hopelessness of seeing games like this sell millions, despite resting on the laurels of much better games. There is also the argument that Palworld is a wake-up call for Game Freak, and it should act as an encouragement for the developer to pull its finger out and try to be more like Palworld. It’s this point where I zone out, because despite their rosters of near-identical creatures and ability to watch them whenever you like, the two games are nothing alike.

Yokai Watch or Digimon fit this description far better, while Palworld is trying to be Valheim or Sons of the Forest with a helping of animal cruelty. There are so many arguments swirling around on Twitter and other parts of the internet right now that it can be hard to make sense of them, but it is abundantly clear that we can’t help but gravitate towards the drama, even if there’s nothing to gain from it. In a few weeks' time, we could be laughing at our own stupidity.

Gamers Love Trends More Than Anyone

Every couple of months, a game emerges from nowhere and takes over the world. Before Christmas, it was Lethal Company, a game made by a single developer which became the breakout horror hit of winter. When it comes to survival games, we’ve seen hits like Valheim and Sons of the Forest attract untold virality in the first few months of release before swiftly fading away. Both of these games are built for sharing with friends or giving odd happenings a second home online in the form of video clips and screenshots. You will see one of these, and more likely than not, be drawn into picking up the game for yourself.

If a tweet with 50,000 likes or so convinces even a percentage of those engaged with it, I’d consider that a success. If this happens thousands and thousands of times over, you’re well on track to a viral phenomenon.

The exact same has happened with Palworld, whose very concept is already purpose-built fuel for online engagement. Combine that with a relatively cheap asking price, Game Pass launch, and gamers in dire need of a game to fill the void left in the wake of several mediocre Pokemon titles, and the success story writes itself. That’s not to say it’ll stick around, and I can already see its many cracks starting to show.

Where Does Palworld Go From Here?

Who knows! The AI and plagiarism accusations aren’t going anywhere, and I doubt they will until PocketPair offers a more concise explanation or something else comes along to drown out all the noise. But given its status as an early access game, several suspicious eyes will be on the game as it rolls out new patches and reaches certain milestones - and given how PocketPair abandoned Craftopia, these may be few and fleeting. I’m still not fully convinced the game was made in bad faith, but will reserve judgment until the truth is clear and we know whether ‘Pokemon With Guns’ is as innocent as it turned out to be.

It’s already sold five million copies and will maintain a passive audience through Game Pass and regular updates, so it’s safe to say Palworld isn’t going anywhere. Whether we will care about it nearly as much once the dust has settled is a whole other matter.

Next: Pokemon's Biggest Palworld Issue Isn't Stolen Designs