Is Palworld Using AI Art?

I’m no artist by any means. But even I have to admit that some of these old pals in Palworld have got some inspiration from Pokemon. Whether it’s plagiarism or AI art is another story. As I write this, Palworld has already sold another million copies since yesterday. Further shattering records with over 6 million copies sold. It’s Tuesday morning, and it’s currently at almost 2 million concurrent players. This makes Palworld the 2nd most-played Steam game of all time. May I remind you that this is on a weekday morning, while people are at work?

#Palworld has sold over 6 million copies in only 4 days!
Our all-time peak player count has also surpassed 1.7 million.

Thank you very much!!

Some users are experiencing problems and bugs, which we are addressing with the highest priority.

Thanks for your support! pic.twitter.com/j1CGWW52Rr

— Palworld (@Palworld_EN) January 23, 2024

Well, what about AI? I mentioned in my last article that people have been accusing Palworld of using AI art in their game. However, since the accusations first dropped, people have ripped assets apart and made their comparisons. Yet, no actual evidence of AI art has been found. Palworld’s developer Pocket Pair, a Tokyo-based indie company has used AI art in the past. The prominent time being for a game called AI: Art Imposter. But the only argument found in Palworld is just the classic “you can copy my homework but just change it up a bit” creature designs.

Palworld Developer Pocket Pair Has Used AI in the Past, but It Seems Absent Here

So if AI didn’t “make” any assets for the game, is it possible AI had something to do with the designs for Pals? Maybe, but some people aren’t convinced. Like in the tweets embedded below, Palworld fans are claiming a lot of these designs are a stretch.

"They have the same eyes as a pokemon!"

Is not even close to the own you wish it was.

Over thousand of pokemon, many different eye types. Cope. https://t.co/k0Ciy7rYG9

— Avie Doram (@AvietheDoram) January 23, 2024

Like dude you cannot look me in the eye and tell me this is a copy. Like these are two entirely different things.https://t.co/2io7MnsIKx

— Specter📼 (@SpecterM91) January 22, 2024

Others are valiantly defending poor little multi-billion dollar indie company Nintendo and getting meme’d on.

63. The final one I could find, the colours of Hisuian Growlithe. This one is a stretch but I couldn’t shake it lmao. Let me know if there are any I missed or designs taken from other games outside of Pokémon! (I believe the boar is Zelda inspired?) pic.twitter.com/vEcCVk8KNS

— Cecilia Fae 🍂 (@CeciliaFae) January 21, 2024

I don't have any opinions on Palworld, not really my type of game, but it's funny seeing all those people jumping to defend Nintendo and Pokemon being like pic.twitter.com/IqzcsTHiMp

— PigMasked🐷 (@PigMasked_) January 22, 2024

Stronk, I love watching you but this is such a poor take. It wouldnt be such a big deal if Palworld had one, two, or even a handful of designs that were like "that's familiar," but it's not just a handful, it's most of them, and some like "Green Cinderace" are plain obvious
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/7z4Oq8Qa4d

— uwuziel 🦖 (@uwuziel) January 21, 2024

Let’s All Be Pals Now and Get Along

Some “X” users have also pointed out that Pocket Pair has had some eerily similar games to existing ones in the past like this Hollow Knight clone, “NeverGrave” Which I can see is pretty 1 to 1 with the beloved indie game.

This ain't even the first game they made that's been copying. While Nevergrave has seemingly original characters the UI, art style, and gameplay loop are straight from Hollow Knight.
As for GenAI, PocketPair actively pushes for its use in all their games, we just don't know where pic.twitter.com/O1J8VJRJm4

— uwuziel 🦖 (@uwuziel) January 21, 2024

All this discourse is making my head spin. Will Nintendo sue Pocket Pair? Well, since the reveal trailer was shown 2 years ago. I don’t think so. Is there a case for plagiarism in some designs? Probably. AI art though? I still haven’t found any evidence of AI art in this cutesy gun-ravaging game. I’m only 10 hours in so far and I’m just now starting to unlock those long-awaited firearms with friends.

Do I feel strongly either way about Palworld having plagiarism or AI? No, and it seems 6 million others aren’t either. Stay in touch here on Wicked Good Gaming, share your own opinions and thoughts about this in the comments, and stay tuned for a Palworld review coming soon!