That ‘Pokémon With Guns’ Game Really Wants You To Know It’s Not A Scam

The developers behind PalWorld—which folks online often refer to as “Pokémon with guns”—understand that people might be suspicious of this unorthodox survival game, so they’ve tried to assure folks it’s not a “scam” on Steam.

In case you missed it, PalWorld looks a lot like someone tossed Minecraft, Fortnite, Pokémon, and some AR-15s into a giant blender, took the resulting digital slush, and made it into an actual video game. Watching trailers and gameplay of it, Palworld almost looks fake or like a fever dream. But it is (as far as I can tell) real, with even Xbox announcing that it will be available on day one on Game Pass for both PC and console.

Yet, after questionable launches of other online games—like The Day Before—and with folks wondering if this game is just a big joke, the devs have posted a new FAQ on PalWorld’s Steam store page ahead of its January 19 release.

As spotted by Gamesradar on January 17, the official Steam page for the game includes a “PalWorld Early Access Launch FAQ.” It’s mostly what you expect, explaining that crossplay is coming, a PS5 version might happen one day, and explaining how multiplayer works. Standard stuff. But then there’s this frequently asked question at the very end:

“Is this game a scam? Or is it a money-making MMO or virtual currency game?”

And look, I believe that PalWorld isn’t a scam. The fact that Xbox has paid money to get it on Game Pass seems like more than enough evidence that the game is real and coming out soon. But boy, PalWorld’s answer to this question of whether it’s a scam or just a “money-making MMO” is weirdly defensive.

“It is not a scam and will definitely be released on January 19th,” PalWorld’s devs said. “PalWorld is a typical Steam game, you buy it once and it is yours forever. While we may consider expansions after the full release, that is a conversation we will all have together, as a community, when the time comes!”

It’s just a typical, definitely-not-a-scam video game, folks. Nothing to see here. But this answer makes me wonder what kind of messages and posts the devs are seeing that made them so direct and specific.

We shall all see on January 19 if PalWorld is real or a collective fever dream we all had after watching too much Pokémon and playing a few late-night rounds of Fortnite while high.

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