Pickmos, a game that drew heavy criticism for closely copying the look and style of Pokémon, has been removed from Steam just days after its developer tried to distance itself from controversy with a simple name change.

The game was originally called Pickmon before developer PocketGame renamed it to Pickmos, saying the change was meant “to better align with our brand identity.” The rename did little to calm the backlash, and the Steam page has since been taken down entirely.

Hello players, this is the publisher, Networkgo. We’ve heard your feedback regarding the removal of our Steam store page and want to clear things up. Networkgo has officially intervened in the development of PocketGame.
We will be supervising the Pickmos team from a player’s… pic.twitter.com/ckqt4AEYUj

— Pickmos / Pickmon / ピックモス (@PickMon_EN) April 16, 2026

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What makes the situation unusual is how the removal was addressed. Publisher NetworkGo posted a statement on X pointing the finger at the developer, writing: “Networkgo has officially intervened in the development of PocketGame. We will be supervising the Pickmos team from a player’s perspective to ensure the game keeps getting better.”

Shortly before that statement went up, a separate message on the same X account, appearing to come from PocketGame itself, indicated the publisher had already taken over: “We are revising the game to ensure a controversy-free experience. It will be re-released once our publisher gives the final approval.”

Pickmos | Official Gameplay Trailer | Pockegame
This is the official account of Pickmos. #Pickmos is a brand new multiplayer monster-collecting game with open-world survival elements! 🧭Open world survival crafting game for up to 32 players! 🔫Gather your weapons and go on an… pic.twitter.com/VRQ0lfpSD3

— Pickmos / Pickmon / ピックモス (@PickMon_EN) April 15, 2026

Despite the rename, the creatures in the game were still set to be called Pickmon collectively, a detail that did not go unnoticed by critics. For now, the game remains offline on Steam, with a re-release pending publisher approval.