This Pokemon And Palworld Clone Is Causing An Uproar

We've seen a lot of Pokémon clones over the years, each trying their own hand at the tried-and-tested formula of players exploring new regions while collecting and battling with the monsters they catch along the way. The most recent apparent pastiche of the Nintendo and Game Freak property is the planned upcoming game "Pickmos," which has caused quite the stir in the gaming world.

Developed by PocketGame with Networkgo as the intended publisher, the game now known as "Pickmos" was originally titled "Pickmon" when it was unveiled in March 2026. A trailer featuring creature designs that looked very familiar to famous Pokémon and settings that were awfully similar to those seen in "Palworld" quickly racked up comments accusing the game of being a total rip-off.

The gameplay appears to combine monster-hunting mechanics with base-building and RPG elements. On Steam, the synopsis reads: "Dive into a vast, uncharted continent filled with ancient civilizations and mysterious creatures called Pickmon. In this multiplayer open-world survival crafter, you'll team up with your Pickmon to fight, farm, and build industrial empires while thwarting a shadowy organization's plot."

Not long after changing its title amid backlash, the digital storefront for "Pickmos" was temporarily removed from Steam. This was done at the behest of the game's publisher, Networkgo, which posted a statement on Steam after people began questioning where the store page had disappeared to. "Networkgo has officially intervened in the development of Pickmos," they wrote. "We will be supervising the PocketGame team from a player's perspective to ensure the game keeps getting better."

Less than a month later, "Pickmos," saw its storefront page return to Steam without much fanfare or an official announcement from the developers. Interestingly, at the time of this writing, the in-game creatures are still referred to as Pickmon on its Steam page. The change in title hasn't stopped the controversy — in fact, it only appears to have added to it. Online commenters have widely lambasted "Pickmos" as one of the most overt "Pokémon" rip-offs ever while also commenting on its similarity to "Palworld."

Negative buzz around the project escalated after a Pokémon fan artist alleged the game stole one of their designs. Taking to X, artist Elpsy shared an image of a grass/fairy-type Pokémon they had created called Meganium next to a very similar looking creature from the upcoming game. "They didn't even try to change something and make it a bit less obvious," Elpsy wrote in the post.

While fans of "Palworld" are up in arms about "Pickmos" seemingly ripping off their favorite game, we shouldn't forget that "Palworld" was hit with similar accusations when launched through early access in 2024. Nintendo sued the creators of "Palworld," claiming that it violated three of its patents and asking for 10 million yen in damages. Developer and publisher Pocketpair fought back, saying in a statement, "We will continue to assert our position in this case through future legal proceedings."

At this time, it's unclear if Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, or Game Freak have pursued legal action against PocketGame over "Pickmos," but given how similar some of the creature designs are, it seems inevitable. The Pokémon franchise has undergone a bold transformation across its 30-year history, always maintaining its popularity, so copycats games were always going to happen. Some Pokémon clones are actually great ("Coromon" and "Temtem" are particularly enjoyable), but there's a line you don't cross, and "Pickmos" has taken a giant leap over it with its creature designs.