Palworld Developer Pocketpair Says It’s Being Forced to Patch the Game Due to Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s Lawsuit

The developers of *Palworld*, Pocketpair, have confirmed that recent in-game updates were made as a direct response to the ongoing patent lawsuit with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. Since its explosive early 2024 launch on Steam and Xbox Game Pass, *Palworld* has shattered sales records and drawn widespread attention for its unique blend of survival crafting and creature collection mechanics. Priced at just $30, the game quickly became a cultural phenomenon, with developer Takuro Mizobe admitting the studio was unprepared for the sheer volume of revenue it generated.

Despite the overwhelming success, *Palworld* soon found itself under scrutiny, particularly for its resemblance to *Pokémon*. While many fans speculated about potential copyright violations, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company opted to pursue legal action through patents rather than a traditional copyright claim. Their lawsuit seeks 5 million yen (approximately $32,846) from Pocketpair for each party involved, along with additional damages and an injunction that could potentially halt further development or distribution of *Palworld*.

Legal Challenges Influence Game Design

In November 2024, Pocketpair acknowledged the three Japan-based patents it was being sued over—specifically related to field-based monster capture mechanics. This led to the release of Patch v0.3.11, which removed the ability to summon Pals by throwing Pal Spheres, replacing it instead with a static summoning mechanic next to the player. These changes were widely suspected by players to be a reaction to legal pressure, and Pocketpair later confirmed this to be true.

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More recently, Patch v0.5.5 introduced another gameplay compromise: gliding now requires the use of a dedicated glider item, rather than being enabled by Pals. Although team Pals still provide passive buffs during gliding, players must now carry a glider in their inventory to perform the action. Pocketpair described these adjustments as necessary compromises aimed at avoiding further disruption to the game’s development cycle and ensuring continued availability to players worldwide.

Pocketpair's Official Statement

We would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation for the continued support of our fans over the past few months. We apologize for not being able to share as much information as we would like, but we trust our fans understand how difficult it is to be fully transparent while litigation is ongoing.

Currently, we remain involved in prolonged legal proceedings regarding alleged patent infringement. We continue to dispute these claims and assert the invalidity of the patents in question. However, we have had to make certain compromises in order to avoid disruptions to the development and distribution of Palworld.

On November 30th, 2024, we released Patch v0.3.11 for Palworld. This patch removed the ability to summon Pals by throwing Pal Spheres and instead changed it to a static summon next to the player. Several other game mechanics were also changed with this patch. As many have speculated, these changes were indeed a result of the ongoing litigation. Everyone here at Pocketpair was disappointed that this adjustment had to be made, and we fully understand that many players feel the same frustration. Unfortunately, as the alternative would have led to an even greater deterioration of the gameplay experience for players, it was determined that this change was necessary.

Furthermore, we regret to inform our players that with the implementation of Patch v0.5.5, we must make yet another compromise. From this patch onward, gliding will be performed using a glider rather than with Pals. Pals in the player's team will still provide passive buffs to gliding, but players will now need to have a glider in their inventory in order to glide.

We understand that this will be disappointing for many, just as it is for us, but we hope our fans understand that these changes are necessary in order to prevent further disruptions to the development of Palworld.

We also want to extend our apologies to our fans for the discomfort and concern this ongoing litigation has caused.

We remain committed to developing Palworld and delivering exciting new content to our fans.
On behalf of everyone at Pocketpair and Team Palworld, thank you again for your continued support.

During a panel discussion at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March, John “Bucky” Buckley, communications director and publishing manager at Pocketpair, reflected on the challenges faced since *Palworld*’s launch. He noted that the patent lawsuit came as a complete surprise to the team, describing it as something "no one even considered." Buckley also addressed false allegations surrounding generative AI usage and model theft—claims that have since been debunked or retracted by those who initially made them.

As Pocketpair continues to defend itself legally, the company remains focused on evolving *Palworld* into a long-term franchise. Despite the setbacks, the studio shows no signs of slowing down, reaffirming its commitment to both its growing fanbase and future expansions of the IP through the newly formed Palworld Entertainment joint venture with Sony.