Palworld Isn't the Only Game Put in Jeopardy by Nintendo's…

From the moment it was first revealed, Palworld raised eyebrows due to its similarities to Pokemon. The art style, monster design, and gameplay mechanics were all obvious homages to the creature-collecting giant – Palworld itself is even colloquially referred to as “Pokemon with guns.” It was little surprise that Nintendo eventually came after Pocketpair with a plagiarism lawsuit in Japan.

This ongoing litigation has already affected Palworld with several in-game changes to appease the plaintiff, while Nintendo has attempted to make almost two dozen new patents in the United States. While most were rejected, one patent was recently accepted – and its implications could affect far more games than just Palworld.

Nintendo’s ‘Summon Creatures to Battle’ Patent is a Sword of Damocles

What Does Nintendo’s New Monster Battle Patent Cover?

U.S. Patent number 12,403,397 went into effect on September 9, 2025, on behalf of Nintendo and The Pokemon Company. The most important part of this document is claim 1, which protects the specific process of creature summoning and battle intrinsic to Pokemon. Cutting through the legal jargon, this patent essentially means Nintendo could pursue an infringement lawsuit against any game that does all of the following:

The game is stored on a computer or other console.
The character can move in a virtual space.
The character can cause “sub-characters” to appear.
If an enemy is present when the sub-character appears, the sub-character battles them.
If an enemy is not present, the sub-character automatically moves.
If the sub-character encounters an enemy, it will battle them.

As it exists right now, Palworld is may be safe from this patent, as it arguably does not fully meet the criteria. However, the presence of this patent could complicate matters for Pocketpair if they seek to make changes to the game later, essentially creating another landmine that Palworld will need to avoid if it wishes to evade issues with Nintendo in the U.S. Market.

A Necromancer with their minions in Diablo 4

However, this patent doesn’t just affect Palworld. Hundreds of games can be subjected to this document, past, present, and future. Several popular games use mechanics that would meet these criteria; Diablo 4’s Necromancer, World of Warcraft’s Hunter and Warlock, Guild Wars 2’s Ranger and Necromancer, Final Fantasy 14’s Summoner, and the main characters of Final Fantasy 10, 13, and 13-2 all tread dangerously close to this patent. While there is no guarantee Nintendo will sue these games, the fact of the matter is that this patent now gives it the legal standing to do so – and every game made from now on will have to tread carefully when using summon-and-battle mechanics.

Several games featuring creature summoning and battling, including Dragon Quest (1986), Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei (1987), and Robotrek (1994), predated the 1996 release of Pokemon Red and Green.

Video Game Mechanic Patents Harm the Gaming Industry

To see how dangerous this new legal document could be, one need only look at the most notorious example of a video game mechanics patent: the Nemesis system. Created for Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War, this dynamic gameplay system allows enemies to adapt to the player’s actions and remember them, creating complex hierarchies that breathe life into adversaries. It has been referred to as one of the most innovative breakthroughs in modern gaming – but unfortunately, Warner Brothers’ patent of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis system has made it so that no other video games can use it.

A company protecting its intellectual property is one thing. Indeed, Nintendo’s lawsuit against Palworld, Sony suing Tencent over the Horizon clone Light of Motiram, or World of Warcraft trying to close private servers like Turtle WoW are understandable, regardless of one’s opinion on each case. But this movement towards patenting gameplay mechanics is a highly-damaging trend that stifles innovation and threatens creativity in the industry – especially towards indie companies who could never hope to survive a lawsuit against a giant like Nintendo, regardless of its outcome.

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