Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair in Tokyo. Pocketpair is the Japanese video game developer behind Palworlda game that people describe as a Pokémon parody, with cute monsters with guns. The game, released in Early Access form on January 18, was an instant hit, selling 15 million copies on Steam and passing 25 million players in just a month. The Pokémon Company said a few days after Palworld announced that it would investigate a game “released in January 2024” and “take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe intellectual property rights related to Pokémon.” It appears the investigation has concluded and a decision has been made to take legal action.
“This lawsuit seeks an injunction against infringement and damages on the grounds that Palworld, a game developed and published by Defendant, infringes multiple patent rights,” Nintendo said in announcing the lawsuit.
Pocketpair said earlier that its game is more on Ark Survival Evolved And Vanaheim than Pokémon. Company president Takuro Mizobe claimed that Palworld “legal reviews approved” and that no lawsuits have been filed against Pocketpair regarding its development. While Palworld’s monsters might seem familiar to Pokémon fans, it takes on a darker tone. You can choose to play as a friend to the monsters known as “Pals” and fend off the poachers who try to kill them. But you can also kill and eat Pals, fight them to the death, and even sell them into slavery.
