Two weeks back, developer Pocket Pair released Palworld, a monster taming survival crafting game that exploded in popularity, selling over 19 million copies as of their most recent update.

One of the major reasons behind widespread interest in the game is the designs of its monsters, many of which bear strong resemblance to creatures from the massively popular Pokemon franchise. The similarities were so strong that The Pokemon Company eventually put out an official statement stating they would be investigating any potential intellectual property infringement, although they avoided explicitly mentioning Palworld by name.

Although no official action has been taken so far, it seems some Japanese companies may be preparing behind the scenes to avoid potential fallout. According to a report from Tokyo-Sports, at least one talent agency has instructed its talents to avoid mentioning Palworld in public or on social media. This instruction was apparently out of “consideration” for Pokemon and future potential collaborations with the brand, the idea being that mentioning Palworld could lead to The Pokemon Company pulling out of working with the agency.

“We have told our talent not to mention Palworld on social media or in public. This was done out of consideration for the Pokémon side as an agency. This decision was made in consideration of future potential collaborations.”

Given that Pokemon is one of the biggest brands in the world, it would not be surprising for some agencies to take pre-emptive precautions to avoid jeopardizing potential partnerships. Stay tuned for more updates as they come.

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