Palworld is going through the roof and the first mods are already online. On January 22, a YouTuber presented his new Pokémon mod for the game – which Nintendo has already banned at least on X.com.
Update, 01/24/2024: The video from ToastedShoes is now blocked on YouTube.
Update, 01/23/2024: After Nintendo banned the teaser for the video about the Pokémon mod on X.com on the morning of January 23, 2024 (see further down in this news), YouTuber ToastedShoes has now released his full video of his Palworld version in Pokémon style.
According to X.com, the team behind the mod will wait a bit longer to release it:
We want to release [the mod] for free for everyone. But since Nintendo sent us a copyright claim, we are being cautious for now.– ToastedShoes via X.com on 02/23/2024
What exactly does the mod do? The Pokémon mod for Palworld was released on January 22, 2024, just a few days after the early access release of the game on X.com. The teaser video shows a player character that looks like Ash Ketchum from the Pokémon TV series.
In addition, the mod replaces the Cattiva with Pikachu, Lamball with Wolly, and the Chikipi with Flemmli:
On X.com (formerly Twitter), only a teaser has been visible so far. It shows, among other scenes:
- Pikachus mining ores
- Hoothoots populating the world
- Ash fighting a Chelterrar with a bow and arrow
- In the first boss fight in Palworld, Jessie from Team Rocket sends an Elektek into battle
- Ash talks to the characters Brook and Misty, who accompany Ash in the series and are gym leaders in the games
The displayed Paldeck also suggests that all currently available Pals have been replaced by Pokémon. For example, there seems to be Phanpy, Myrapla, and Plinfa. The latter is even a starter Pokémon from the fourth generation.
Which YouTuber developed the mod? The mod is developed by YouTuber ToastedShoes. He currently has 738,000 subscribers on YouTube. Most of his videos are based on mods where he implements known IPs into video games.
Recently, ToastedShoes worked a lot with Mortal Kombat. In it, he had Disney and DreamWorks characters compete against each other.
Barely has Palworld been released, the Pokémon mod is already in the starting blocks – or not?
What is the current release status of the mod? Currently, you cannot install the mod yet. It is neither available in the Steam Workshop nor on the Nexusmods platform. Additionally, Palworld currently has no official mod support.
ToastedShoes has only posted the teaser on X.com so far and announced the full video for his YouTube channel. According to the post, it should be released sometime on January 23, 2024.
What does Nintendo say about it? Currently, there is no official statement from Nintendo regarding Palworld, despite the game repeatedly being accused of simply being Pokémon with guns
. The teaser video for the mod by ToastedShoes was removed just a few hours before the release of this news by a report from the rights holder
on X.com:
Currently, there are no known cases where the Palworld developer Pocket Pair has taken content for his game offline. It can therefore be assumed that, as ToastedShoes suspects, Nintendo is behind the report.
The teaser has indeed also been reposted on other social media platforms like Instagram by various users. On the YouTuber’s channel itself, the original is also still live in the form of a YouTube short.
After Nintendo has reacted very decisively to the release of the teaser on X.com, it is questionable whether ToastedShoes will still go live with the promised full video on YouTube. Nintendo does not shy away from large-scale lawsuits against fans and content creators who the company believes have violated copyright:
- Artist raises €270,000 for hand-painted guides – Nintendo sues, shuts down the project
- Nintendo blocks video from YouTuber who discovered a secret Zelda game – He is now hitting back
- Company wants to release a Pokémon game with NFTs and hints that they got Nintendo’s okay – Big mistake
The intensity with which Nintendo combats copyright violations can be intimidating for many artists. We will definitely keep you updated with information about the Pokémon mod for Palworld.
