Did ‘Palworld’ Just Get Palworld’d? – Looking at the ‘Aniimo’ Gamescon Trailer

It’s been just about 24 hours since the official release date trailer for Aniimo dropped. This game was apparently announced way back in September 2025, so I am so incredibly behind, but if you’d please indulge me for just a moment, I really must talk about how this game looks like they Palworld‘d Palworld, which is to say, they filed off the serial numbers of Pokemon and put just enough effort to distinguish it, but I mean… come on.

You can put a flower on its head, but that’s a Gardevoir. I played Ruby/Sapphire. I know that Psychic (and later Psychic/Fairy) type when I see it and…

Oh my god, hello Tera-Fairy Gadevoir. I know the idea of elementally aligned pocket monsters isn’t purely in Pokémon‘s realm (as much as Nintendo desperately wishes it was), and I know objectively there seems to be a modicum more effort in the reskinning than in Palworld, but it’s hard not to sift through the trailer and go “huh” every couple of frames.

This ball of fluff is equally likely to be ice cream or a failed clone of Wooloo’s failed clone from the one in Palworld pictured below.

They got Snorlax in a cyperpunk inspired fit next to what is their base building example.

There’s their version of the Pokémon Synchro mode in Pokémon Scarlet/Violet.

Everything about this trailer gives a very similar vibe to my reaction when the Palworld trailer dropped, although with significantly less guns and forced animal labor.

Then again, perhaps Aniimo‘s marketing team knew exactly what it was doing when it released this trailer for Gamescom. In the span of 24 hours, I went from knowing nothing about the game other than it looked like a copy of a copy to knowing:

• It’s an action RPG more aligned with the game of Genshin Impact (with Free 2 Play and Gacha mechanics) than the open world survival simulator that Palworld is.
• It’s releasing September 16th on PC & Console, with a mobile release soon to follow on September 23rd.
• Over 28 million people have pre-registered.

I have been a Pokémon fan since Red/Blue, and I crucially have not been a diehard fan of the franchise. I did not weep for Dexit or the closing of Pokémon Bank. I stayed away from Legends: Arceus and enjoyed my time in Legends: ZA. I watched several play throughs of Pokopia. I am a proud Gecqua girlie ahead of Winds/Waves, but I have always been content with playing the mainline games, maybe get their DLC, and then go about my day.

Perhaps the lesson to be learned from the existence of Palworld, Aniimo, Temtem, and many, many more is that the monster capturing and battling genre continues to endure and people are still trying to capture the same magic, much like every company is still chasing the cultural high that was Fortnite. I do not know if Aniimo will be the one to leave its mark, or if it will simply find its niche, but I do know that this ice crab is what happens when you cross-breed a Klawf and a Crabominable.

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