What Is 'Palworld' And Why Is It Seemingly Everywhere Online? The 'Pokémon With Guns' Game, Its Viral Success And Memes Explained

The year has just started and we already have a contestant for 2024's viral game of the year. As strange as it may seem, yes, a Pokémon-like game with creatures using firearms has been trending on the internet since its early access release on January 19th.

Palworld was a project that people limited to just a funny "meme" idea and never imagined actually playing it. However, the action-adventure game has sold over four million copies in just three days and its growing fan base looks like they're having a lot of fun with the game. But what exactly is Palworld and why is it called "Pokémon with guns"? Let's find out!

What Is 'Palworld' Exactly And What's The Game All About?

Palworld is an action-adventure RPG survival game developed by the Japanese studio Pocket Pair. The game was first announced on June 5th, 2021.

Initially, Palworld looks similar to Pokémon, with the player-character using the animalistic creatures known as "Pal" to complete tasks such as flying, watering plants and generating electricity. However, the trailer also showcases Pal being used as bullet shields, hunted and doing hard manual labor.

On January 19th, 2024, an early access version of Palworld was released on Steam and Xbox Game Preview (available with Game Pass from day one), where the game is expected to remain for at least one year. The company also released more gameplay content on YouTube, showing more creatures and the game's map.

Why Is The Game Called 'Pokémon With Guns'?

The key difference between Palworld with the famous Nintendo RPG is that you and your "Pals" can use guns, lots of guns. Hence, after the first trailer dropped, people immediately started calling the game "Pokémon with guns." Kotaku published a bewildered piece about the game, writing:

According to Palworld’s Steam description, this is part of the game’s “Factory and Automation” gameplay, with the developers explaining that “it is essential for automation to let Pals do the manual work. Build a factory and place Pals in it. They will work forever as long as they’re fed until the end of their lifetime.”

How To Play 'Palworld'?

You can play Palworld in a single-player campaign or with friends in multiplayer and create servers. To do that, the official Palworld X account suggests trying to reconnect two to three times or waiting after launching the game to connect to multiplayer to fix the "black screen issue" that many players are purportedly facing in early access.

How Did People React To 'Palworld's' Release?

The game received an immense popularity boost upon its early access release in mid-January, prompting streamers and newcomers to test Palworld's unique mix of features. According to a PC Gamer article posted on January 21st, the game sold 4 million copies in three days, surpassing many triple AAA game releases like Hogwarts Legacy, Cyberpunk 2077 and Elden Ring.

Given its concept and arguably ridiculous concept, it's no surprise that many clips of gameplay have gone viral online, further attracting attention. For example, TikToker @rifflop posted a clip showing a penguin creature being used as a cannon ball, which garnered over 3.4 million plays and 198,000 likes in just a day. Another from TikToker @garoshadowscale featuring a gameplay guide for the best "starting" creature to catch in has received more than 2.6 million plays and 237,000 likes in two days.

@rifflop Mon nouveau pal… #palworld ♬ son original – rifflestudio

@garoshadowscale Palworld Gameplay BEST STARTER 👀 #palworld #pokemon #gamingontiktok ♬ original sound – Garo

In recent days, Palworld has also spawned numerous memes about its gameplay and concept, many of which notably mock Nintendo and Pokemon for the similarities to its more ridiculous cousin.

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For the full history of Palworld, be sure to check out our Know Your Meme encyclopedia entry for more information.