Summary
Palworldmight have to undergo gameplay changes or face removal from storefronts altogether, according to a lawyer. This comes asNintendo sues Palworld developer Pocketpair, accusing the devs of patent infringement.
Speaking toGamesRadar, Haley MacLean from the firm Voyer Law explains that Palworld might undergo big gameplay changes ifNintendois successful in its lawsuit against Pocketpair. This could see features from the game reworked completely, mostly likely including the capture mechanic which issaid to be the reason behind Nintendo’s lawsuit.
MacLean adds that another possibility is that Palworld is removed from storefronts, either temporarily or permanently. Although she adds that, at this stage, it is difficult to say for certain what would happen if Pocketpair loses. Instead, MacLean says that much of this depends on the actual patents in question.
At this point, it’s only suspecting that Nintendo is suing over an apparent infringement over capture mechanics that the company patented in 2021. And even if that is the case, Nintendo says that Pocketpair infringed upon “multiple” patents, so it’s likely that there’s more to the lawsuit than this.
Early analysis of the lawsuit doesn’t seem to be in Pocketpair’s favour, and that’s much the same here. MacLean highlights that Nintendo has been successful in patent lawsuits in Japan previously, and that this case law and precedent may help it in its fight against Pocketpair.
What We Know About Nintendo’s Palworld Lawsuit
Nintendo filed its lawsuit against Pocketpair on September 18. It is a joint lawsuit, with The Pokemon Company also suing Pocketpair.
“The lawsuit seeks an injunction against the defendants and compensation for damages, alleging that the game Palworld developed and sold by the defendants infringes multiple patents,” reads a statement from Nintendo. “In order to protect the valuable intellectual property that we have built up through many years of hard work, we will continue to take the necessary measures against any infringement of our intellectual property, including our brand.”
Pocketpair has said that it intends to fight the lawsuit, writing in its own statement: “It is truly unfortunate that we will be forced to allocate significant time to matters unrelated to game development due to this lawsuit. However, we will do our utmost for our fans, and to ensure that indie game developers are not hindered or discouraged from pursuing their creative ideas.”
Palworld
WHERE TO PLAY
Palworld has been described as Pokemon with guns and well, it’s hard to argue with that. The game is very similar in nature to the Pokemon formula, tasking you with catching and working with monsters called Pals. There are key differences, though. Palworld is rooted in multiplayer, oh, and, unlike Pokemon, its Pals have guns.
