The video game "Palworld" becomes a surprise success and generates controversy due to its comparison with "Pokémon"

() – Cute video game creatures with guns have become a huge surprise hit.

Japanese developer Pocketpair has achieved an unexpected milestone with its game “Palworld,” selling 7 million units in less than a week on the Steam PC service alone, according to the company’s X account, but with its success came a reaction that generated even more commotion.

“#Palworld has sold over 7 million copies in just 5 days! Thank you so much!!! “We continue to work hard to resolve the issues and errors that some users are experiencing,” reads in the messagewhich does not take into account the Xbox and Windows PC platforms, on which the game is also available.

In the game, players find themselves in a large open world, capturing and using Pokémon-like creatures to combat enemies (sometimes with firearms), cope with hunger, and survive the elements.

But comparisons with Pokémon have also sparked controversy.

Fans of the long-running Pokémon franchise on Nintendo platforms were angered by the close similarities in the designs of several creatures, according to the specialized video game media IGN. Things got so bad that Pocketpair said he received death threats.

“Working furiously on all my messages and emails! “I promise… However, you’ll excuse me if I skip over the death threats, threats to the company, and massively outlandish claims,” public a Pocketpair community manager. “If you can write like a real human being, I will respond as soon as possible.”

Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe also responded to the alleged death threats in X and called the accusations of plagiarism “slanderous.”

Passionate gamers behaving badly in the name of a brand are not new, as are the harassment, doxxing, and death threats campaigns that emerged from the Gamergate culture wars from a decade ago. Toxic behavior even led to death by swatting of a Kansas man in 2017and 91% of respondents at a Game Developers Conference last year agreed that harassment and abuse have become a concern for studios.

As for the possibility of legal action itself, Mizobe didn’t seem worried when he spoke to the half Japanese Automationnoting that “Palworld,” while inspired by the beloved Nintendo franchise, was closer to other survival adventure games like the recent “Ark: Survival Evolved.”

Although Pocketpair has avoided lawsuits so far, one YouTuber independently modified the game by putting “REAL Pokemon in Palworld” and found himself frustrated by a copyright claim by Nintendo.

“Nintendo came for me, please keep me in your thoughts and prayers,” published in X.