News + Trends
The most important game trailers and announcements of the week
by Domagoj Belancic
"Pickmon" steals even more brazenly from "Pokémon" than "Palworld"
11.3.2026
Translation: machine translated
While Nintendo is still in a legal clinch with the "Palworld" developers, the mysterious studio Pocketgame is going one better in terms of audacity with the title "Pickmon". The trailer looks like a best of stolen game ideas.
Some lawyers at Nintendo are probably wondering whether to laugh, rub their eyes or blush. They're actually still busy filing a lawsuit against Pocketpair, the studio behind «Palworld», which is having to defend itself as if it were similar to «Pokémon» and Zelda games. More on this below. The announcement trailer for «Pickmon», a new open-world survival crafting game for up to 32 players in co-op mode, has now been released.
With «Pickmon», a new protagonist is entering the arena of copyright disputes and his breathtaking audacity is likely to have the brawlers gasping for breath. The game is in no way inferior to «Palworld» when it comes to stealing inspiration and also gleefully adopts key game mechanics from «Palworld» into its own gameplay.
«Pickmon» boasts with stolen scenes
The first two seconds of the trailer for «Pickmon» are already a challenge to Nintendo's «The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild» and the «Pokémon» game series. A game character, who looks like Link's twin brother, runs across a grassy plateau towards a cliff to the sound of a piano, while a huge fantasy world opens up in front of him.
Zelda fans will recognise this scene from the first few minutes of «Breath of the Wild». Using it prominently as the opening sequence in the trailer for «Pickmon» is so bold that it must be seen as a provocation towards Nintendo.
Source: Nintendo, Pocketgame
A small animal that looks strikingly similar to the most famous Pokémon, Pikachu, hops next to the «Pickmon» character. Afterwards, Klon-Link opens his glider and sails out into the world alongside a large, snake-like dragon, which is also strongly reminiscent of «Breath of the Wild» and the dragon Pokémon Rayquaza.
Further scenes show even more so-called Pickmons (called Pals in English) that accompany you on your adventures, just like in «Palworld» and «Pokémon». They are strikingly similar to the original Pokémon, such as Kapilz and Azugladis, and are shown working in the player base in the trailer. Building a base and employing Pickmon as a handyman and gardener is a key gameplay element of «Palworld» and one of the few major features that sets it apart from «Pokémon».
Source: Pocketgame
The creators of «Pickmon» obviously couldn't resist adding a crown to the whole theft: The name of the developer studio is Pocketgame. The parallel to Pocketpair is hard to miss.
Nintendo vs Pocketpair
With its «Palworld»released in early 2024, the Japanese studio Pocketpair has made such a strong impression on the appearance of the Pals and some of the game mechanics.The appearance of the Pals and some game mechanics were so heavily copied from «Pokémon» that Nintendo's lawyers took it to court a few months later for patent infringements. With success: Pocketpair had to adapt some gameplay elements because they were too similar to the original.
Last May, Pocketpair stated that it was still involved in «lengthy legal proceedings» with Nintendo, but does not believe that it has committed copyright infringement. On the contrary: «Pokémon» appears to continue to serve as inspiration for the studio. As recently as January 2026, the studio announced that it would be releasing a collectible card game for «Palworld» like «Pokémon». A Cozy spin-off in the style of «Pokémon Pokopia» and «Animal Crossing» is also set to follow: «Palfarm».
Nintendo, Pocketpair, Blizzard & various content creators vs Pocketgame?
«Pickmon» now goes one step further. The apparently uncreative designers have not only copied Nintendo and «Palworld», but are also pissing off Blizzard and various fan art artists. For example, a Pickmon appears in the trailer that is strongly reminiscent of the Roadhog from Blizzard's «Overwatch». Some creators of Pokémon fan art complain that their creations can be seen almost one-to-one in the trailer
Is «Pickmon» really a game?
On Steam, «Pickmon» is already listed. A release date is not specified. However, the trailer seems very generic overall: on Reddit, some users suspect that it is an AI-generated video and not a real game. At the end of the two-minute trailer, it is stated that a future release on Nintendo Switch is planned. Whether Nintendo would sign off on this is certainly doubtful.
Currently, «Pickmon» only exists on YouTube, Steam and in the controversy that the trailer has caused. Nothing can be found on the internet about the studio Pocketgame or the publisher Networkgo listed on Steam. Nor does «Pickmon» appear to have its own website. So it remains to be seen whether «Pickmon» will really exist.
Header image: Pocketgame
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.
Gaming
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
News + Trends
From the latest iPhone to the return of 80s fashion. The editorial team will help you make sense of it all.
Show allThese articles might also interest you
2 comments
later