Palworld Responds to Pokémon Lawsuit
Palworld is gearing up to defend itself against the recent lawsuit filed by Pokémon and Nintendo. In a statement, developer Pocketpair acknowledged the lawsuit and its intent to defend itself. The development team also focused its message on the impact to game development and the playerbase, somewhat leaning into its underdog status in this legal battle.
"Pocketpair is a small indie game company...it is truly unfortunate that we will be forced to allocate significant time to matters unrelated to game development due to this lawsuit," the statement reads.
Regarding the Lawsuit
— Palworld (@Palworld_EN) September 19, 2024
Yesterday, a lawsuit was filed against our company for patent infringement.
We have received notice of this lawsuit and will begin the appropriate legal proceedings and investigations into the claims of patent infringement.
At this moment, we are unaware…
While a small studio, Pocketpair has published one of the most successful games of the year, reaching over 25M players across PC and Xbox with a planned PS5 launch in the future.
The game has been a true breakout success and while fans have certainly noted similarities between character models across the two properties, Palworld does offer a game experience wholly distinct from Pokémon. I mean, there's never been a Pokémon game where you can hand Pikachu a submachine gun.
Response to the statement is overwhelmingly supportive. It seems that fans of both properties are generally unconcerned with any potential IP infringement and want both companies to focus on making great games.
Nintendo would rather sue, than innovate the Pokemon video game series to more modern standards..
— Roberticus Gaming (@Roberticus_YT) September 19, 2024
Best of luck in your proceedings!
However, Nintendo is no stranger to bad press due to its legal strategy — and the gaming powerhouse tends to come out on top. Numerous fan projects and tournaments for its properties have been quickly shut down. A fan-made mod for Palworld that actually turned the pals into 1to1 Pokémon was quickly taken down.
There are currently no details on if or when this lawsuit will move to trial.
TRENT MURRAY
Trent has covered esports since the birth of the LCS. He also led content strategy and served as Senior Writer for The Esports Observer and Sports Business Journal, and worked on the development team for Rushdown Revolt.