Only three days into the Palworld launch, often dubbed ‘Pokemon with guns,’ a mod surfaced that transformed players into Ash Ketchum and reimagined Pals as ‘mons. However, less than 24 hours later, Nintendo swiftly took down the mod, signaling its firm stance on copyright protection.

Games Radar reported that attempting to access the mod page now results in an error message stating, “This mod is under moderation review.” Videos showcasing the mod on social media platforms, including YouTuber ToastedShoe’s original clip, have been disabled, citing a response to a report by the copyright owner.

In response to the potential legal repercussions from Nintendo,
the Palworld modding community is distancing itself from Pokemon mods. In the dedicated Discord server, admin Archery 100 announced precautionary measures, stating, “While the memes are hilarious, the mod alone poses a significant risk to the community. We need to take precautions so that Nintendo’s lawyers don’t take litigious actions against us. The mod likely utilizes ripped assets and is considered very illegal in Nintendo’s eyes.”

To protect the community and the server, sharing links and files to mods is now prohibited, with violations subject to an “immediate ban.” This strict stance arises from the past use of Discord DMs in DMCA cases, prompting a need to safeguard against hosting mods targeted by Nintendo.

This incident isn’t isolated, as fan-made projects have faced shutdowns this year over concerns about Nintendo’s legal team. Portal 64, a demake of the iconic puzzle game, was canceled after Valve expressed worries about the use of Libultra, the official Nintendo 64 SDK. Developer James Lambert noted, “While I might not be a big enough target for Nintendo to come after, Valve is.”

As for Palworld itself, despite its designs bearing striking similarities to actual Pokemon, lead developer and Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe asserts that the game has undergone thorough legal reviews, and as of now, no action has been taken against it by Nintendo.