The patent infringement lawsuit filed by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company against Pocketpair's hit survival game Palworld remains ongoing in Japan. In a curious twist, Nintendo recently revised the wording of one key patent – but what prompted this unexpected maneuver?
Launched in early access on January 19, 2024, Palworld became an instant sensation on Steam and Xbox platforms. The open-world survival title sold 8 million copies within its first six days and amassed over 25 million players within a month.
The game features collectible creatures called Pals that players capture (using Pal Spheres) and deploy for various tasks. Immediate comparisons were drawn to Pokémon due to visual similarities and capture mechanics, earning Palworld its "Pokémon with guns" moniker for its edgier take on monster collecting. Following its explosive success, Pocketpair partnered with Sony in June 2024 to establish Palworld Entertainment, a dedicated venture for expanding the franchise.
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company had monitored Palworld since its release (as evidenced by their January 2024 statement). However, they didn't formally initiate legal proceedings until September 2024, accusing Pocketpair of patent violations in Japan.
The lawsuit centers on three Japan Patent Office-approved patents (all filed post-Palworld's release but based on 2021 Nintendo patents) covering monster capture mechanics and character riding systems. Legal experts suggest Nintendo strategically filed these derivative patents specifically targeting Palworld's mechanics.
In response, Pocketpair has modified several contested gameplay elements through updates, including removing the Pokéball-style Pal summoning animation (November 2024) and altering glide mechanics (May update). Notably, these changes don't constitute legal admissions – rather, they reflect standard defensive strategies in patent disputes, as explained by Japanese patent attorney Kiyoshi Kurihara.
The revised riding patent (receiving recent adjustments) originally covered mounting and controlling designated "boardable characters." Pre-update Palworld allowed players to directly grab and glide using Glider Pals, which Japanese lawyer Ryo Arashida suggested might have conflicted with certain patent specifications.
The May update replaced direct Pal interaction with equipment-based gliding – ironically contradicting Nintendo's own patent justification that distinguished "characters" from tools. Nintendo's subsequent rewording of the patent (a rare legal tactic) suggests concerns about potential invalidation, according to IP consultant Florian Mueller.
While Nintendo's precise motivations remain unclear, experts speculate the revisions aim to strengthen their patent validity claims. As legal proceedings continue, Pocketpair maintains Palworld's development, recently introducing crossover content with Terraria.
