What comes to mind when you think of Palworld? For the developers, the answer is often "Pokémon with guns," which is admittedly not the association they were hoping for.
When the game initially surged in popularity, that phrase became its unofficial label across the internet—a quirky mashup that arguably fueled its rapid rise. Even we at IGN are among those who’ve used the term, just like countless others. It was a quick, accessible way to describe the game to newcomers.
However, according to John “Bucky” Buckley, Pocketpair’s communications director and publishing manager, “Pokémon with guns” was never the intended takeaway. In fact, he noted that the studio isn’t particularly fond of the nickname. He shared this during a talk at last month’s Game Developers Conference, reflecting on Palworld’s sudden fame back in 2021.
“We unveiled the game in June 2021—quite some time ago. The trailer debuted at Indie Live Expo, a Japanese indie gaming showcase. The Japanese audience responded really positively, but Western media quickly picked up on it. Almost immediately, they branded us as a ‘certain franchise’ plus firearms. That label has clung to us ever since, despite our best efforts to shake it.”
Following his presentation, I sat down with Buckley and asked him to elaborate. He explained that Pokémon was never really part of the initial pitch. While many on the development team are fans and recognized the monster-collecting similarities, their core inspiration was always ARK: Survival Evolved.
“A lot of us are huge ARK fans. Our earlier title, Craftopia, already borrowed some ideas from ARK that we loved. For Palworld, we wanted to expand on that foundation. In ARK, dinosaurs are central—some cute, some cool—but we aimed to give each creature more personality, more abilities, more uniqueness. So the pitch was this: let’s build something like ARK but with deeper automation and every creature feeling truly special. Then we released that first trailer, and the ‘Pokémon with guns’ label emerged. We weren’t thrilled, but that’s just how it played out.”
When I asked if he thought the “Pokémon with guns” tag helped drive Palworld’s success, Buckley conceded that it did.
“Oh, absolutely. That was huge. Dave Oshry from New Blood Interactive even messaged us—he’d trademarked the domain ‘Pokemonwithguns.com’ and all. That kind of buzz definitely fueled the fire, and honestly, it’s understandable.
“Even now, in 2025, if people still want to call it that, it’s fine. What bothers us a little is when people genuinely believe that’s all the game is. Playing it feels completely different. If you try it and still describe it that way, fair enough—but we’d really prefer if everyone gave it a chance first.”
Buckley also doesn’t consider Pokémon a direct competitor in the market. “I don’t think our audiences overlap that much,” he noted, again pointing to ARK as a closer comparison. But even then, he feels Palworld isn’t really battling other titles for players—not even Helldivers 2, which he said a “very significant” portion of Palworld fans also bought at launch.
“I’ve gotten into trouble before for ranting about console wars, but to me, competition in gaming often feels manufactured—like a meta-marketing tactic. Honestly, I don’t think true competition exists anymore. With so many games out there, how can you only compete with one or two? It doesn’t hold up. More than anything, we’re all just racing against timing—release windows matter more than rivals.”
So if “Pokémon with guns” is out, what tagline would Buckley have preferred to go viral?
“I probably would’ve called it ‘Palworld: It’s Kind of Like ARK Meets Factorio and Happy Tree Friends’ or something along those lines. That’s how I’d pitch it.”
I pointed out that it doesn’t quite roll off the tongue—and he agreed.
During our conversation, Buckley and I also explored the potential for Palworld on the Nintendo Switch 2, whether Pocketpair might ever be acquired, and several other topics. You can read the full interview here.
