Summary
- Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are suing Pocketpair for patent infringement related to Palworld.
- The lawsuit seeks damages and an injunction, threatening the game's future.
- This comes as rumors have been swirling about a Palworld PlayStation port announcement at Tokyo Game Show.
Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have filed a lawsuit against Palworld developer Pocketpair for "infringement of patent rights." Prior to its launch, many described Palworld as Pokemon with guns. For those unfamiliar with the wildly successful title, the basic concept of Palworld is that it combines survival game mechanics with features commonly seen in the Pokemon franchise, like using balls to catch monsters of various elemental types for use in battle and exploration.
When Palworld first became popular, concerns were raised that the game featured Pals that looked too similar to existing Pokemon, and that some of its features may be too similar to what's been established by Nintendo's franchise. Some expressed the opinion that Nintendo could potentially sue Palworld developer Pocketpair over the similarities between the IPs, and now that's finally happening, roughly eight months after Pocketpair's survival game was released in early access.
Palworld Addresses Free-to-Play Rumors
Palworld addresses the recent rumors that have suggested the game may be going free-to-play, confirming the direction it is headed in the future.
On September 18, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court against Palworld developer Pocketpair. The lawsuit "seeks an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages on the grounds that Palworld [...] Infringes multiple patent rights." According to Nintendo, the lawsuit is being filed because the company says it will "continue to take necessary actions against any infringement of its intellectual property rights" to protect the Nintendo brand and its various franchises that "it has worked hard to establish over the years."
Nintendo and The Pokemon Company Are Suing Pocketpair
Palworld has not issued a response to Nintendo's lawsuit at the time of this writing. Previously, Pocketpair gave the impression that it hadn't heard anything from Nintendo about Palworld, though Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa stated in February, "We will take appropriate action against those that infringe our intellectual property rights." It's unclear exactly why Nintendo waited eight months since Palworld's early access to pull the trigger on a lawsuit, but this really couldn't have come at a worse time for the popular early access survival game.
Currently, Palworld is available on PC and Xbox in early access, though there have been rumors that the game is set to have a big showing at Tokyo Game Show. It's believed that the long-awaited Palworld PlayStation port is going to be announced at the event, possibly coinciding with the game's 1.0 release. The Nintendo lawsuit could potentially throw a wrench in those plans. It's also unclear what this means for existing versions of Palworld on PC and Xbox.
It's no secret that Palworld was a monstrous financial success, but even so, fighting against Nintendo and The Pokemon Company in court is going to be hugely expensive and challenging. It will be interesting to see what Palworld developer Pocketpair has to say about the lawsuit, and hopefully, fans get some clarification on what this all means for the game's future.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 71 /100 Critics Rec: 58%
- Released
- January 19, 2024
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Violence
- Developer(s)
- Pocket Pair, Inc.
- Publisher(s)
- Pocket Pair, Inc.
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- Xbox Series X|S, pc
WHERE TO PLAY
In this game, you can peacefully live alongside mysterious creatures known as Pals or risk your life to drive off a ruthless poaching syndicate. Pals can be used to fight and breed, or they can be made to work on farms or factories. You can even sell them or eat them.
Survival: In a harsh environment where food is scarce and vicious poachers roam, danger waits around every corner. To survive, you must tread carefully and make difficult choices...even if that means eating your own Pals when the time comes.
Mounts & Exploration: Pals can be mounted to traverse the land, sea and sky—allowing you to traverse all kinds of environment as you explore the world.
Collect all kinds of exciting Pals to fight, farm, build, and work for you in this completely new multiplayer, open world survival and crafting game!
- Cross Save
- yes
- Number of Players
- 1-4 (Co-Op); 32 Players Server Limit
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Shooter, Survival
- How Long To Beat
- 36 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 6 GB (February 2024)
