Palworld hides an unreleased, familiar-looking Pal creature in its code, fan says

A cunning Palworld fan has found an unreleased Pal creature hiding away in the game's code.

The black and purple beastie is currently codenamed «Dark Mutant», and can be seen through a datamine of Palworld's files. It has a 3D model — which you can see above — and a text log entry for the game's Pokédex, sorry, Paldex.

«Some say a beam from a {characterName id=|DarkMutant|/} that has perfected its technique can tear holes into other dimensions,» the game says of the creature. «It's even believed that certain species of Pals were born from such phenomena.»

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Speaking to Eurogamer, Palworld dataminer Brian Cozzens said he stumbled across the design while working on an interactive online map for the game, as well as a fansite where you can view the game's 3D models of its 100-or-so Pals.

For anyone who thinks the Dark Mutant design looks familiar, you're not alone. Palworld players on reddit were quick to note the similarities to Pokémon's Mega Mewtwo Y.

You can see a side-by-side comparison of the two creatures below.

Datamined Palworld creature Dark Mutant and the Pokémon Mega Mewtwo Y. | Image credit: PocketPair / Eurogamer

Of course, this is hardly the first instance of Palworld being accused of using monster designs similar to those of Pokémon.

This week, The Pokémon Company even took the unprecedented step of publicly issuing a statement on the matter, saying it was now «investigating» whether its intellectual property rights had been infringed.

None of this has seemingly dampened enthusiasm for Palworld among players, however — quite the opposite. Today saw Palworld's Steam concurrent numbers pass two million for the first time — making Palworld only the second game ever on Steam to do so, after PUBG.