Summary
- Palword launches on PS5 in Japan after skipping the region with its initial launch.
- Legal pressure from Nintendo has been speculated as the reason for the delayed Japanese release.
- Pocketpair is determined to expand Palworld to new platforms like mobile, despite its legal battle with Nintendo.
Palword has finally launched on PlayStation 5 in Japan after initially skipping that one particular region in its original console-specific launch. Though there was heavy speculation that publisher/developer Pocketpair had been avoiding the PS5 release of Palworld in Japan due to legal pressure from Nintendo, the game is now available there.
Originally launched in Early Access for PC and Xbox Series X|S in January, Palworld shadow-dropped for PlayStation 5 on September 24. The surprise announcement meant that the game's survival-crafting and monster-catching mechanics would be opened up to a new market's worth of potential players in 68 countries and regions around the globe, potentially extending the game's lifespan after early blockbuster player counts quickly dropped off.
Palworld's Arrival on PlayStation 5 Opens Up an Obvious Opportunity to Reach Even More Players
With the breakout hit Palworld coming to PlayStation, there's a fairly obvious route for it to take to further expand its audience.
But the original launch of Palworld on PlayStation 5 skipped Japan without any real explanation from Pocketpair, which at the time, simply apologized to its Japanese fans and pledged to release the game there on PS5 as soon as it possibly could. Although the global social media team hasn't played up the latest news, the game's Japanese Twitter page announced on October 4 that the game has hit the PlayStation Store in that region.
Palworld on PS5 Releases in Japan Amid Legal Battle with Nintendo
While Pocketpair has continued to keep a tight lip about the reason behind the delayed Japanese launch, there exists heavy speculation in the fan community that legal pressure from Nintendo and other owners of the Pokemon franchise played a heavy role. On September 18, Nintendo filed a civil lawsuit against Palworld's developer, accusing Pocketpair of violating multiple patent rights and asking for compensation for the alleged violations and an "injunction against infringement," or in plain speak, a court order demanding the other party to cease its infringing activities. Speaking with Yahoo News, Japanese patent attorney Kiyoshi Kurihara had identified 28 different patents that Nintendo might be able to use against Pocketpair. While Kurihara seems to feel there is enough distinction between Pokemon and Pals to avoid legal trouble, some mechanics, like catching the creatures with either a Poke Ball or Pal Sphere, may be too similar to avoid repercussions.
Despite the legal action, Pocketpair seems determined to continue launching Palworld on more platforms. A few days ago, South Korean publisher Krafton announced it had reached an agreement with Pocketpair to bring Palworld to mobile devices. There's been no announced timeframe for when players can expect to get their hands on a mobile version of the game, but Pocketpair's global community manager, John "Bucky" Buckley, has stated that the legal action by Nintendo will not cause his company to alter its plans for future releases.
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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)
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
