Palworld Dev Warns Gamers To Avoid Fake Knockoffs On Mobile, Cue Nintendo's Eye Roll

It's not as crazy as it sounds, really. Think of it from the perspective of a kid: you can get Fortnite or Minecraft on every electronic device known to man, so why not new hit game Palworld that all your favorite streamers are playing? Search it up on your phone and bam, there it is in the app store.

The thing is, it's not real, and it's probably an outright scam. Palworld is only available on Steam and Xbox—nowhere else. Despite this, you can search for the game in English or by its Japanese name, パルワールド ("paruwaarudo", or "Palworld"), and you'll get at least a half-dozen hits on both iOS and Android. In an attempt to stem the tide, the game's developer PocketPair has released a statement cautioning players away from these fakes.


Of course, there is some irony to be found in the idea of Palworld, a game regularly (and unfairly) derided as a knock-off title itself, warning players about sketchy clones. It's easy to assume Palworld is a cheap cash-grab that ripped off some Pokémon designs, slapped Unreal Engine store assets down, and called it a day. That's really not the case at all, though, and this becomes obvious once you actually play it.

Palworld has already hit over nineteen million players, with twelve million of those being on Steam and a further 7 million being on Xbox platforms, including the Xbox game consoles as well as the Xbox store on Windows. The game's runaway success comes despite its obviously-unfinished early access nature; anyone who has played the game will readily tell you that it is buggy and awkward at the best of times.


Still, the combination of Ark: Survival Evolved-like base building, Breath of the Wild-style open-world exploration, and of course, cute tameable monsters, is extremely compelling. There's quite a lot to enjoy here even in the game's current state, and after playing Palworld, it's honestly hard NOT to get excited about the future of the title, especially considering its massive success to date.

The real question will be where PocketPair goes from here. The company's previous games have largely lingered in early access with updates being few and far between. However, based on post-release interviews, it sounds like the developers are in a better state than they ever have been. The company posted a roadmap for future updates, and it looks like bug fixes and technical improvements are first up on the docket.


Have you been playing Palworld? What do you think of it? Let us know in the comments below.