Random: Japanese celebrities reportedly said “not to mention” Palworld to avoid damaging their Pokemon relationships

Survival crafting game and overnight sensation In the world It has now successfully established itself with more 19 million Players worldwidebut it seems there are still some concerns about this new monster game in the homeland of Pokemon, Japan.

After The Pokémon Company released an official statement last week about this new Early Access title, the talent agency has reportedly asked Japanese entertainment professionals to refrain from mentioning Palworld's “in consideration” of Pokémon and “potential future collaborations” with The Pokémon. a company.

A source at the talent agency said Tokyo Sports The following (Thanks, VGC):

“We have told our talent not to mention Palworld on social media or in public. This was done out of consideration for the aspect of Pokemon as an agency. This decision was made in light of potential future collaborations.”

In the Pokémon Company's statement, it did not directly mention the name of the game, instead referring to Palworld as “another game from another company released in January 2024.” It also noted that it has not permitted any use of Pokemon IP in this particular game and will investigate any infringement of intellectual property rights related to Pokemon:

“We have not given any permission to use Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game. We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts of infringement of intellectual property rights related to Pokémon.“

A few days before that, Don McGowan, the Pokémon Company's former chief legal officer, admitted that he was “astonished” that Palworld had actually come this far. Nintendo also acknowledged the existence of Palworld but did not comment on “individual cases.”

Although Palworld was a sensitive topic for select parties, Microsoft's gaming arm Xbox announced this week that it will offer support to Palworld developers. Support will be provided to enable dedicated servers, provide assistance with game optimization, and help speed up the process to make Palworld updates more readily available to players.

Palworld is now also the “biggest” third-party launch title ever on Xbox's Game Pass subscription service, with over 7 million Xbox players have been enjoying the game since it debuted in “Game Preview” in January.