Multiple teams at Tencent are reportedly developing mobile games inspired by Palworld and its “Pokemon with guns” theme. Earlier this year, indie game Palworld exploded into popularity. While it was often compared to Pokemon, featuring a gameplay loop that involved capturing and training similar-looking stylised creatures for battle (and manual labour), the game still became a viral hit, amassing millions of players worldwide.
According to a recent report from Bloomberg, Tencent wants in on the trend as it’s now reportedly doubling down on making several Palworld-like mobile games. “The teams at Timi and Lightspeed are both building games in the style of genre-blender Palworld,” reads the report. “Replete with pet companions and stylised violence, according to people familiar with the matter.” The report adds that Tencent is banking on this push to reboot the company’s core business.
Palworld developer Pocket Pair previously revealed that the game surpassed 25 million players in the first month of launch. It’s easy to see why some gaming companies might be scrambling to capitalise on this trend, which isn’t exactly new – Pokemon clones have been around for decades – though Palworld made just enough clear distinctions, like base-building and a focus on survival elements, to set it apart from Nintendo’s successful franchise.
The trend of gaming companies recycling breakthrough hits on the market isn’t new either. Before the current boom of survival sims and Pokemon-esque monster-collectors, the late 2010s saw a rise in battle royale games after PUBG‘s release, spawning hits like Fortnite and Apex Legends (along with many other failed attempts to capitalise on the genre). With Helldivers 2 also shedding light on the enormous potential of well-made co-op shooters, it seems like the industry is a bit indecisive about which trends to lean into next.
According to Tencent, making Palworld-like games is the way to go, though it remains to be seen if the rest of the industry will follow.
Source: Bloomberg (via Financial Post)
