It’s almost surprising how much of a breakout hit Palworld has managed to become. Since the game’s launch, it has accrued a massive fanbase, with hundreds of thousands of concurrent players still giving it a shot.

Despite this, the game drew many comparisons to the Pokemon franchise, and it’s been said that The Pokemon Company and Nintendo are looking into whether the game has stolen its property.

A few days ago, Nintendo’s President, Shuntaro Furukawa, was asked about Palworld after the latest company financial results briefing.

According to Reuters (Translated by VGC), the executive was adamant about stating that Nintendo would crack down against any company that would infringe its copyright. Palworld wasn’t mentioned by name, but the President said, “We will take appropriate action against those that infringe our intellectual property rights.”

This news comes after The Pokemon Company stated Palworld’s existence a few days ago. The statement, while not mentioning the game’s name, talked about how the famed company would determine whether the game infringed on its copyright.

“We have not granted any permission for using Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game,” the statement says. “We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon.”

On the other hand, the Palworld developer (Pocket Pair) CEO has also thrown his own two cents into the fray. In an interview with Automaton, the developer stated that the game doesn’t share any similarities to the Pokemon property, citing ARK: Survival Evolved as a more apt comparison to make between the two.

The developer also stated that the game hasn’t broken any laws and received no lawsuits. “We take our games very seriously, and we have no intention of infringing upon the intellectual property of other companies,” he said.