Pocketpair Forced to Patch Palworld Amid Nintendo, Pokémon Lawsuit

Pocketpair, the developer behind the wildly successful game Palworld, has recently disclosed that changes made to the game through recent patches were necessitated by an ongoing patent lawsuit filed by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. Palworld, which launched in early 2024 and was priced at $30 on Steam while also being available on Game Pass for Xbox and PC, shattered sales and concurrent player records. The game's massive success led to unexpected challenges for Pocketpair, with CEO Takuro Mizobe admitting that the studio was overwhelmed by the profits. In response, Pocketpair quickly moved to expand the Palworld IP, striking a deal with Sony to establish Palworld Entertainment and later releasing the game on PS5.

Following Palworld's launch, the game drew comparisons to Pokémon, particularly in terms of its creature designs, sparking accusations of copying. However, instead of pursuing a copyright infringement lawsuit, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company opted for a patent lawsuit, seeking 5 million yen (approximately $32,846) each, plus damages for late payments and an injunction to halt Palworld's release. The lawsuit centers around three Japan-based patents related to capturing Pokémon in a virtual field, a mechanic similar to Palworld's use of Pal Spheres to capture creatures in the game.

In November, Pocketpair confirmed these patents and acknowledged that changes made in Patch v0.3.11, released in November 2024, were a direct result of the litigation. This patch altered the summoning mechanic from throwing Pal Spheres to a static summon beside the player, along with other gameplay adjustments. Pocketpair stated that without these changes, the gameplay experience could have deteriorated further.

More recently, Patch v0.5.5 introduced additional modifications, changing how gliding is performed in the game. Now, players must use a glider rather than relying on Pals, although Pals still provide passive gliding buffs. These changes, described by Pocketpair as "compromises," are being made to avoid an injunction that could disrupt the game's development and sales.

Despite these alterations, Pocketpair remains committed to challenging the lawsuit, arguing the invalidity of the patents in question. The studio expressed regret over the changes but emphasized their necessity to prevent further disruption to Palworld's development. In a full statement, Pocketpair thanked its fans for their support and apologized for the limited transparency during the ongoing legal battle.

At the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March, John "Bucky" Buckley, communications director and publishing manager for Pocketpair, discussed these issues in a talk titled 'Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop.' Buckley addressed the accusations of using generative AI and stealing Pokémon models, which have been debunked, and touched on the unexpected nature of Nintendo's patent lawsuit against the studio.