Nintendo’s Lawsuit Against Palworld Has Come at the Worst Time

On September 18, 2024, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company filed a lawsuit against the Palworld developer Pocketpair. Filed in the Tokyo District Court, this is a patent infringement lawsuit seeking compensation for damages on the grounds that Palworld infringes on multiple patent rights. What these patents are is currently unknown, with even Pocketpair admitting the following day that it isn’t sure yet, but the fact remains that Nintendo is suing one of the most successful Pokemon imitators yet. Many people have wondered if this would happen since Palworld’s launch, but this case isn’t quite what they had in mind.

Palworld was released in early access for Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on January 19, 2024, and has been receiving updates and acclaim ever since. Gaining over 15 million owners on Steam and 10 million Xbox players in just one month, Palworld launched the major Sakurajima patch in early Summer, including a PvP arena, dedicated Xbox servers, new Pals, and the titular new island itself. Its momentum is still going strong, especially for a game that hasn’t achieved its final form yet, but Nintendo’s lawsuit could throw a wrench into its plans simply by arriving at the wrong time.

Palworld’s Nintendo Lawsuit Explained

Right now, there is a lot of confusion online over the Palworld patent lawsuit, and not many details available to clear things up, so it’s best to limit assumptions. What can be stated for certain is that this is a patent infringement case, not a copyright case, and thus concerns design decisions rather than surface-level visual comparisons like some Pals resembling Pokemon. Nintendo and The Pokemon Company, as well as many large game developers and publishers, have registered lots of broad patents covering seemingly innocuous details and design trends, so it’s possible that Palworld infringed on some without even realizing it.

Palworld May Not Be In As Much Danger As It Seems

Such patent cases have a better track record of succeeding in Japanese courts compared to American ones, but that doesn’t spell the end for Pocketpair or Palworld. The most likely result of the legal proceedings, based on similar cases, will be Palworld being found guilty of infringing upon at least one patent, and Pocketpair needing to pay Nintendo and/or The Pokemon Company a fine and potentially make adjustments to Palworld. Although Pocketpair is a small indie company, Palworld’s success means it probably has money to burn, so in a best-case scenario there will be minimal long-term repercussions. If this lawsuit causes Pocketpair any strife, the worst problems may show up right away.

The Context Around Palworld’s Lawsuit Could Be The Real Threat

Rumor has it that Palworld will announce its arrival on PlayStation during the week of Tokyo Game Show 2024, which formally runs from September 26 to September 29. Some rumors also claim that there will be a PlayStation State of Play during that week, providing another good opportunity for Palworld to make the announcement. Nintendo filing a lawsuit against Pocketpair a week beforehand could cause a last-minute change of plans, robbing Palworld of a major new platform and PlayStation of a big announcement, and that may not be all.

Palworld’s Jump To PlayStation Will Be Weird No Matter What

PlayStation does not normally accept early access releases, so Palworld arriving there implies that it may have reached version 1.0 sooner than expected. If the announcement of this port is delayed, Palworld‘s entire 1.0 update may go with it. With that said, PlayStation has precedent in accepting the early access Pokemon clone TemTem in December 2020. Palworld is more lucrative than that, and Pocketpair is also forming Palworld Entertainment, Inc., with Sony subsidiaries right now, so it could get special treatment. Everything surrounding Palworld and Nintendo’s lawsuit is uncertain, but at least TGS week should reveal whether the game has already been disrupted.