Palworld developer Pocketpair has released a statement regarding changes to its monster catching survival game which were made due to its ongoing Pokémon lawsuit, Eurogamer reported.
Nintendo announced it was suing Pocketpair for infringement of “multiple” patents toward the end of last year. It was later confirmed the lawsuit was targeting three patents in particular. Then, as part of a winter update, Pocketpair subsequently removed the ability to summon creatures by throwing Pokéball-style Pal Spheres.
Writing on social media platform X earlier today, Pocketpair expressed disappointment that such actions were required back then, before stating it was not having to make “yet another compromise” due to the lawsuit.
The developer said it understood this would be “disappointing for many”, just as it is for the Palworld team. However, it said the changes are “necessary in order to prevent further disruptions” to the game’s development, and it remains “committed to delivering exciting new content for players.
Video Games Chronicle reported: Nintendo and The Pokémon Company filed a lawsuit against Pocketpair Company filed a lawsuit in Japan last year, alleging that Palworld infringes on three patents that are related to the monster catching gameplay, all of which were initially filed by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company between February and July of last year. Palworld was released on January 19, 2024.
On Thursday, Pocketpair confirmed it had previously patched out the ability to summon Pals via ‘Pal Spheres’ due to legal action, and confirmed that further changes were coming in order to avoid disrupting future development and releases.
“On November 30th, 2024, we released Patch v03.11 for Palworld,” it said. “This patch removed the ability to summon Pals by throwing Pal Spheres and instead changed into a static summon next to the player.
“Several other game mechanics were also changed in this patch. As many have speculated, these changes were indeed a result of ongoing litigation. Everyone here at Pocketpair was disappointed that this adjustment had to be made, and we fully understand many players feel the same frustration.
“Unfortunately, as the alternative would have led to an even greater deterioration of the gameplay experience for players, it was determined that this change was necessary.”
PCGamer reported: Today, Palworld received a new patch. Update v0.5.5. doesn’t add any new features, Pals, or environments. It doesn’t fix any bugs or offer any optimization improvements. Instead, the accompanying Steam news post from developer Pocketpair only includes patch notes.
Mechanics Adjustment: The mechanics for gliding with a Pal have been changed. Until now, you could use certain Pals as a glider, however, from this patch you will only be able to glide using a glider. Glider Pals will now provide a new passive partner skill effect while gliding, but the player must have a glider equipped to actually glide.
Pocketpair offered additional context for the update in a post on X, explaining that the adjustment to Pal gliding was “another compromise” made in response to Nintendo’s ongoing lawsuit, which alleges that Pocketpair infringed on a series of patents protecting Pokémon game mechanics.