We all knew Nintendo would come after the Palworld Pokémon mod, but its modder has quickly struck back with a new download which replaces Palworld’s friendly Pals with totally original “legally distinct” and “legit copyright free” pocket creatures.
Last week, YouTuber ToastedShoes took the Palworld’s close Pokémon comparisons to the extreme, with an unlicensed Pokémon mod. Footage of the mod remained on the internet for about a day, before Nintendo got to work scrubbing it away.
The Pokémon Company itself soon responded, stating its intent to “investigate and take appropriate measures” regarding anything that could infringe on its copyright. Meanwhile, modding hub Nexus Mods released its own statement confirming it won’t host Pokémon-themed Palworld mods
This hasn’t dismayed Toasted however as his new mod, The legally-distinct pocket creatures into Palworld Mod Pack, was uploaded to Nexus Mods earlier today.
The mod pack switches the player character to a custom ToastedShoes character with a red and white cap, and definitely not one you might find Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum wearing. Certain Pals have been swapped out for some of the old classic pocket creatures we all know and love – like Blue Penguin, Floral Raptor, and of course Yellow Rat.
Toasted has uploaded a 10-minute video of the mod pack in action if you want to see all your favourite legally-distinct pocket creatures modded into Palworld.
Despite the drama, Palworld continues to be a smash hit. Palworld developer Pocketpair apologised for server connection issues over the weekend and vowed to tackle cheaters on official servers, as over 2m concurrent players have been hopping online through Steam alone.