Pocketpair Patches Palworld Amid Legal Pressure from Nintendo, Pokémon Company

Palworld developer Pocketpair has revealed that recent patches to the game were necessitated by an ongoing patent lawsuit filed by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. The game, which launched on Steam for $30 and simultaneously on Xbox and PC via Game Pass in early 2024, shattered sales records and achieved unprecedented concurrent player numbers. The overwhelming success of Palworld led Pocketpair's CEO, Takuro Mizobe, to admit that the company struggled to manage the substantial profits. In response to the game's popularity, Pocketpair quickly moved to expand its reach by partnering with Sony to create Palworld Entertainment, a new venture aimed at further developing the IP. The game later became available on PS5.

The success of Palworld drew comparisons to Pokémon, with some alleging that Pocketpair had copied Pokémon designs. 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, along with late payment damages and an injunction to halt Palworld's release.

Pocketpair confirmed in November that it was facing a lawsuit over three Japan-based patents related to the mechanic of capturing Pokémon in a virtual field. Palworld features a similar mechanic with the Pal Sphere, akin to the one in the 2022 Nintendo Switch game, Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

In a recent update, Pocketpair admitted that the changes introduced in Patch v0.3.11, released in November 2024, were indeed a direct result of the legal action. This patch altered the summoning mechanic from throwing Pal Spheres to a static summon next to the player, alongside other gameplay adjustments. Pocketpair stated that without these changes, the gameplay experience would have deteriorated further.

Additionally, Patch v0.5.5 introduced further modifications, shifting the gliding mechanic from using Pals to utilizing a glider, although Pals still offer passive gliding buffs. Players must now carry a glider in their inventory to glide.

Pocketpair described these alterations as "compromises" forced upon them to avoid an injunction that could stop Palworld's development and sales. The studio expressed disappointment over these changes but emphasized their necessity to prevent further disruptions. Despite these adjustments, Pocketpair remains committed to challenging the lawsuit, focusing on proving the patents' invalidity.

Here is Pocketpair's full 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.

At the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March, IGN interviewed John “Bucky” Buckley, communications director and publishing manager for Pocketpair. Following his talk titled 'Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop,' Buckley discussed various challenges faced by Palworld, including accusations of using generative AI and copying Pokémon models, both of which Pocketpair has refuted. He also touched on the unexpected nature of Nintendo's patent lawsuit, describing it as a "shock" to the studio.