Palworld’s developer Pocketpair is the target of a Nintendo and The Pokémon Company lawsuit in regards to how closely it was inspired, or took parts from, its Pokémon franchise. Specifically, there are several gameplay patents that Nintendo chose would be the core of its infringement lawsuit, and Palworld is trying hard to clear them away. In a new statement issued today, Pocketpair said on social media that they “have had to make certain compromises in order to avoid disruptions to the development and distribution of Palworld“, and these come in the form of gameplay adjustments.
The upcoming change will be featured in the next patch for Palworld, which will prevent Pals, the game’s equivalent to Pokémon, from being used as gliders. Whilst formally the player could use their partner Pals as a glider, they must now use an actual glider, with their Pals remaining tucked away in their team. This is confirmed to be part of their attempt to avoid certain gameplay patents Nintendo may own, and thus make the court case a fairer fight between themselves and the Japanese gaming giant. As Pocketpair say, “these changes were indeed a result of the ongoing litigation”.
This isn’t the first time Palworld has had to tweak its gameplay systems, as back in November they removed the ability to summon Pals by throwing Pal Spheres, a clear parallel to Poké Balls. This is another patented system, which Nintendo sees Palworld as having infringed in their implementation. Now, Pals are simply a static summon appearing next to the player, without having the iconic Poké Ball throwing-style animation to summon their companions. If you ask us, both games could perhaps learn a thing from each other.
The lawsuit is still ongoing between Nintendo and the Pokémon Company against Pocketpair, and we’ll be sure to report the latest updates. What do you think about Nintendo’s gameplay patents? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below, and keep your eyes on GameLuster for more breaking gaming news.
