Lawsuit: Nintendo has several "Palworld" features on its conscience
Palworld" was a surprise hit last year. Several popular features have been removed since the launch – apparently because of the Nintendo lawsuit.
(Image: Pocketpair)
The developers of "Palworld" have had to remove or change several gameplay features of their sandbox game due to the legal dispute with Nintendo. The Pocketpair team has now confirmed this for the first time in a blog entry. There have been suspicions in the community for months that removed game mechanics could be due to Nintendo's lawsuit.
Nintendo sued the surprise sandbox hit last fall, claiming that "Palworld" infringed several patents held by the Pokémon developer. The patents describe game mechanics known from the Pokémon video games in general language –, such as throwing Pokéballs at game characters.
"Pal balls" equal Pokéballs?
Pocketpair was apparently forced to change some of the offending game mechanics as a result of the lawsuit. In a patch released on November 30, 2024, the ability to summon Pal monsters by throwing "Pal Balls" was removed – aesthetically and functionally very similar to the behavior of Poké Balls in the Pokémon games. Instead, Pals now simply appear statically next to players. According to Pocketpair, several other game mechanics have been modified with this patch.
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"As many have speculated, these changes were indeed a result of the ongoing lawsuit," writes the studio from Japan. "Everyone here at Pocketpair was disappointed that this change had to be made, and we understand that many players feel the same frustration."
Bad news follows: with an upcoming patch, further adjustments to the game's features will be necessary, Pocketpair writes. From this patch onwards, gliding will no longer be possible with Pals, but only with a glider. "We hope our fans understand that these changes are necessary to avoid further interruptions in the development of 'Palworld'."
(dahe)
