Khizar Mundia 
Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Pocketpair claiming it used copyrighted patents in the surprise hit Palworld, and the defendant has now given an official response.
Palworld is one of the biggest surprise successes of 2024 and was heavily compared to Nintendo’s Pokemon. Despite being brushed off as “Pokemon with guns” during the build to its release, the game wound up as one of the biggest in Steam history. Once it was discovered that some characters in Palworld used repurposed models from the Pokemon games, it was only a matter of time before Nintendo took action.
Now, eight months after the release of Palworld, Nintendo is suing Pocketpair. The Japanese gaming company is claiming Pocketpair infringed multiple patent rights. While this was expected after the release of the game, Nintendo’s silence made many assume Palworld might not face legal action. Palworld’s parent company Pocketpair responded to the lawsuit Nintendo has filed on Palworld.
Palworld’s parent company Pocketpair responds to Nintendo lawsuit
Pocketpair stated it would investigate the patent infringement claims mentioned in Nintendo’s lawsuit.
The company claims it is unaware of what patent they are accused of infringing as it received no notification of the details. It also apologized to its fans and supporters for any negative impact of this lawsuit against Palworld. Additionally, Pocketpair acknowledged the support of its fans in making Palworld a massive success.
In its post on its website, Pocketpair further stated that it’s a small indie game company with a goal to make fun games. The company further claimed it was overwhelmed by the response of fans to Palworld and is working to make the game even better.
The company explained its plan to improve the game so the fans are proud. It stated it is unfortunate a significant time will be reallocated from game development to this lawsuit. However, Pockpair stated it will try its best for fans and ensure indie game developers progress and pursue new ideas.
Why did Nintendo wait so long to sue Palworld?
The Pokemon Company, which is partly owned by Nintendo, said it would investigate possible copyright infringement by Pocketpair in January. Evidently, that investigation took a length of time. Not only that but Nintendo would have also needed to discuss the matter with The Pokemon Company co-owners Game Freak and Creatures, Inc.
Palworld broke multiple records when it was released for PC and Xbox platforms. However, the initial craze has since then died down and so has the overall current player count.
Despite the craze dying down, legal experts state Nintendo and The Pokemon Company would be positioned to see major damages from Pocketpair. This could even include the game being forcibly pulled from digital storefronts.
