After Widespread Criticism for Being a Pokémon Clone, Pickmon Developer Announces Name Change ‘To Better Align With Our Brand Identity and Lore’

Following widespread fan complaints over copied character designs, the developer of upcoming Steam Pokémon-like Pickmon has said it is now changing the game’s name — by one letter — to Pickmos.

Pickmon, or rather Pickmos, was unveiled last month to widespread criticism from Pokémon fans, who pointed out the many similarities in its roster of monsters to the likes of Pikachu, Charizard and Lucario. The game’s trailer even features a hero who could be mistaken for The Legend of Zelda’s Link, who glides off of a mountain top in what could be scene from Breath of the Wild.

Response to the trailer was universally negative, with many fans actively calling for Nintendo to lawyer up and sue Pickmos’ developer PocketGame (not to be confused with PocketPair, the developer of Palworld, which Nintendo actually is suing).

“Dear Players, since the beginning of development, we have been dedicated to building a unique and profound ecological world,” PocketGame wrote in a statement posted to social media today. “To better align with our brand identity and lore, our title is officially changing: Pickmon → Pickmos.

“What does ‘-mos’ represent? A complete Ecosystem. A grand Cosmos. This name carries a more powerful presence, acting as a better vessel for the fantasy adventure we are building for you. But we cute creatures, are still collectively known as Pickmon! See you in the world of Pickmos!”

Other than the title change, nothing else about the game appears to have changed since last month. Indeed, the message was shared alongside another look at the game’s concept art, with designs similar to Pokémon still present.

Game Renaming Announcement:The Evolution of Pickmos
Dear Players,
Since the beginning of development,
we have been dedicated to building
a unique and profound ecological world.
To better align with our brand identity and lore,
our title is officially changing:… pic.twitter.com/3sgnTkvbTd

— Pickmos / Pickmon / ピックモス (@PickMon_EN) April 10, 2026

Of particular note in that concept art is a creature similar to Mega Meganium, an unofficial monster drawn by a fan in a design which many have said Pickmon has since copied without credit. The official Pickmon social media account has even begun responding to comments about this situation with a boilerplate statement, essentially saying that it believes it is legally fine to do so:

“Could you please ask Mr. Fakemon to provide proof of the trademark rights for the designs in question?” the Pickmon account wrote, in message posted to various critical comments. “Our designs are handled by a professional team that manages all trademark filings. Our team has searched the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) database and found no record of Mr. Fakemon’s company holding trademarks for the creatures shown in your images. If there are any legitimate concerns, our legal counsel will coordinate with our Art Director to make the necessary adjustments.”

Response to today’s name change does not seem to have improved fan perception of the game. “Delete the game and never exist again,” reads one response on X/Twitter with hundreds of likes. “You stolen many artist’s design.”

“You think we’re stupid?” reads another reply. “Everyone knows that you’re making nothing more than blatant plagiarized slop with no creativity or identity to stand out. I thought Palworld was bad, you made me change my mind after not only plagiarizing Pokémon, but also fakemon, Zelda, Overwatch, etc.”

“We have shared the community’s feedback with our Art Director for further review,” the official account responded.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social