Pocketpair, the developers of Palworld, certainly knew what they were doing when they created Pals like Sekhmet and Lovander.
What is the current status of Palworld? The survival game left Early Access on July 10 and continues to attract hundreds of thousands of players daily even three weeks later. With such a successful title, it’s no surprise that an active modding community has emerged.
Some of these fan creations have now also reached Bucky, the Head of Publishing and Communications for Palworld. With a series of posts on X, he proved not only that the developers see your naughty mods – but also that they are totally cool with it.
Palworld gives players freedom – and they make full use of it
What’s the deal with the mods? On July 28, Bucky commented on a mod for the Pal Lovander. The pink salamander is not only well-equipped, but also wears an outfit that some might otherwise want to open a new incognito tab for.
Bucky dryly commented: “I could be wrong… but I don’t think that’s official…”
You might want to check who is looking over your shoulder before you open this.
Even Pokémon has a number of creatures that … uh … stimulate the fans’ imagination. Just think of Buneary, Gardevoir, or Vaporeon. A response like this would be hard to imagine for Pokémon.
In another post, Bucky aptly summarized the developers’ attitude. Another user shared a video of the cat Pal Sekhmet, who suddenly has noticeably larger breasts, and asked what exactly Palworld was about. The answer? “Fun. Palworld is about having fun :)”
While this is not a complete free pass, as the rights to Palworld still belong to Pocketpair. Nevertheless, the reactions illustrate the developers’ remarkably relaxed basic attitude compared to Nintendo or the Pokémon Company, who are known to act strictly against fan projects.
This is somewhat ironic, because even though the Pokémon Company guards its IP jealously, a large modding scene has formed around the franchise – but rather “underground” and mostly in the form of romhacks, fangames, or randomizers.
For fairness’ sake, it should be noted: Pokémon is probably the most successful media franchise worldwide. There is much more tied to the brand than just the games. For a game like Palworld, it’s certainly a bit easier to say “Do what you want.”
Nonetheless, it is interesting to consider the different cultures surrounding the franchises. Palworld was long seen as a blatant clone of Pokémon – and is currently even in an ongoing legal dispute with the Pokémon Company.
Now it turns out that it is less the superficial changes, such as the guns, that really set the survival title apart, but rather a fundamentally different culture. “The game is out, it belongs to you” instead of “The characters and world belong to us, you may only play in it.”
Now, honestly: What mods have you installed for Palworld? 👀
If you – for whatever reason – suddenly got the idea to install a mod or two for Palworld, we have compiled what you should consider here on MeinMMO. Don’t worry, we won’t judge you. Palworld: Mods – How to install them and what risks there are
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