Makers of Very Blatant Pokémon Copycat Video Game Forced to Make Very Public Apology, The Pokémon Company Wins ‘Substantial’ Damages – IGN
The Pokémon Company was awarded “substantial” damages as part of a settlement in a long-running lawsuit with the developers of Chinese copycat mobile game Pocket Monster: Remake.Pocket Monster: Remake launched in 2015 and appeared fairly popular, having earned upwards of around $42 million in a single year according to The Pokémon Company, as reported by The South China Morning Post in 2022.The game featured seemingly unaltered Pikachu artwork from the Pokémon Yellow box as the app icon, while other branding for the game featured what appeared to be Ash Ketchum, Pikachu, Tepig, and Oshawott, again unaltered. Gameplay of Pocket Monster: Remake from perezzdb on YouTube shows myriad other familiar characters and Pokémon in what appears to be intended as a remake of the original games.Perhaps inevitably, The Pokémon Company filed a lawsuit back in 2021. Three years later, in September 2024, the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court ruled in favor of The Pokémon Company, awarding around $15 million. But both companies appealed the ruling, leading to this week’s settlement announcement.As reported by Automaton, The Pokémon Company also published a public apology letter from Pocket Monster: Remake maker Guangzhou Maichi Network Technology Co., Ltd., which was issued across all major social media platforms. In it, the company admits ripping off Pokémon characters, promises never to do it again, and confirms it has now shut down Pocket Monster: Remake entirely.Here’s the apology in full:While The Pokémon Company has found success with this copycat video game, it’s still embroiled in a lawsuit with Palworld maker Pocketpair, which it sued for patent infringement last year. Pocketpair has vowed to fight the case in the Japanese courts.Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
