The developers of Palworld won't allow Nintendo's recently filed lawsuit to alter their plans for the future of the game. That's according to Pocketpair's Global Community Manager John "Bucky" Buckley, who defiantly vowed to "march on" during an interview with The Best War Games about the future of Palworld at this year's Tokyo Game Show.

Given how much time had passed since the game's early access release, many were surprised when Nintendo announced that it would be pursuing legal action against Pocketpair for patent infringement a little earlier this month. This included the team over at Pocketpair, who, according to Bucky, had received no direct communication from Nintendo prior to the lawsuit being filed.

palworld-not-going-free-to-play
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.

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Some analysts have speculated that the patent that Pocketpair is alleged to have infringed upon may have something to do with creature-capturing mechanics, although there's been no official word on whether or not this is actually the case. Somewhat surprisingly, Bucky and the Pocketpair team remain in the dark here as well, with the Global Community Manager telling The Best War Games that they still have no idea what they're alleged to have done wrong despite more than a week having now passed since the lawsuit was first announced.

"We refuse for any plans to be changed. We march on." - John Buckley, Global Community Manager at Pocketpair

It's worth noting that Bucky's comments aren't too dissimilar to the ones found in the statement that Pocketpair put out shortly after Nintendo's lawsuit was filed. In particular, their vow to "ensure that indie game developers are not hindered or discouraged from pursuing their creative ideas" sends a very similar message, both to its player base and to those who would seek to stifle their creativity with the threat of legal action.

The Future Remains Bright for Palworld

Away from the impending lawsuit, Pocketpair remains positive about the future of Palworld, and for very good reason. The record-breaking game continues to average over 20,000 concurrent players on Steam, and PS5 sales are already "going well" despite Palworld only being released for the console a few days ago. The team also has a "substantial" update planned for later this year, which Bucky believes has the potential to surprise a lot of players.

For those interested in learning more about the future of Palworld, The Best War Games's interview with Pocketpair will be published on the site over the coming days.

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Palworld Tag Page Cover Art

Palworld
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Open-World
Shooter
Survival
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Systems
PC-1 PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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Top Critic Avg: 71 /100 Critics Rec: 58%
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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
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
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Fight, farm, build, and work alongside mysterious creatures called "Pals" in this completely new multiplayer, open-world, survival, and crafting game!

Genre(s)
Open-World, Shooter, Survival
OpenCritic Rating
Fair