Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have officially decided to file a lawsuit against Pocketpair, stating they will be making, “an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages on the grounds that Palworld, a game developed and released by the Defendant, infringes multiple patent rights.” Now, Pocketpair say they are ready to fight the suit.
After launching early access in 2024 and becoming a massive overnight hit, Palworld caught the eye of multiple fans who labeled the game, “Pokémon with guns”. The Pokémon Company released statement shortly after the games release, stating, “We have received many inquiries regarding another company’s game released in January 2024…We have not granted any permission for the use of Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game. We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon.”
However, six months after this statement and DMCA, in an interview with Game File, developer Takuro Mizobe stated, “Nintendo and the Pokémon Company didn’t say anything to us…Of course I love Pokémon and respect it. I grew up with it, in my generation.”
Yesterday, Nintendo announced an official suit against Pocketpair saying, “Nintendo will continue to take necessary actions against any infringement of its intellectual property rights including the Nintendo brand itself, to protect the intellectual properties it has worked hard to establish over the years”.
Pocketpair has since released a statement which can be seen here. They state within it, “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.”