There is news in the lawsuit between the developers of Palworld and Nintendo. The company filed a lawsuit in 2024 for alleged patent violations, and since then the case has been ongoing.
What is the lawsuit about? On September 18, 2024, Nintendo filed a patent lawsuit against Pocketpair, the developers of Palworld, in Japan. The accusation: The game infringes on several patents of Nintendo. This also prompted criticism from its own fans. MeinMMO inquired with lawyers to learn more about the chances of success.
Nevertheless, the success of Palworld remained unabated – the game was even released on PlayStation 5. In December, the first changes in the game followed, such as when calling the Pals. In the USA, Nintendo also attempted to file similar patents – almost all were rejected. Now the developers of Palworld have reached out to their players in a new post.
Here you can watch the trailer for Palworld:
Palworld must remove important feature
What does the statement say? In a recent statement on X.com, the developers of Palworld provide an update on the situation regarding the lawsuit with Nintendo. They explain that the proceedings are still ongoing and ask for understanding that they cannot make all details public. The ongoing negotiations do not allow for full transparency.
In the statement, the developers also confirm that the patch v0.3.11 from November 30, 2024, was indeed a direct result of the lawsuit. With the patch, the previous animation where Pals were summoned by throwing a sphere was removed. Instead, the Pals now appear statically next to the player – without a throwing animation.
This change was not easy for the team. The statement says: “Everyone here at Pocketpair was disappointed that this adjustment had to be made, and we understand that many players feel the same frustration.”
In addition to the summoning, other mechanics were also adjusted as a precaution with the patch. Such a change will now have to happen again.
What change is coming now? With patch v0.5.5, the ability to glide using Pals will be removed. Instead, players will now have to use their own glider in their inventory to glide through the air. While Pals still provide passive bonuses, the joint gliding with the player’s own creatures will be completely eliminated.
It is still uncertain how the lawsuit between Nintendo and Palworld will turn out and when it will come to an end. It is also unclear whether further mechanics from Palworld will need to be removed in the future, as they may be construed negatively for the developers in the proceedings. You can read about what has happened recently in the lawsuit here: In the lawsuit against Nintendo, the company behind Palworld defends itself against patents related to Pokémon
