Palworld boss: "We don't use AI, our artists draw thousands of sketches"

It didn't take long after Palworld was released last winter for accusations that the game's monsters were made up of AI-generated Pokémon to begin to pour in. For the latest edition of CGWorld, a Japanese magazine specialising in graphics, image and video creation, the developers at Pocket Pair are showing off a host of sketches of Palworld monsters to reveal the creative process and its travails - which, according to the studio's boss, took no "shortcuts" via AI.

Takuro Mizobe, Head of Pocket Pair, via X:
"Palworld is often accused of using generative AI, but in reality, we do not use it. Our artists draw thousands of sketches. (The feature) introduces part of our Pal creation process, so anyone interested should have a look!"

Unfortunately, the magazine is only available in Japanese, but should there still be interest, it should be possible to buy a digital edition for us in the West to read. Check out an extract from the magazine below.