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Pocketpair says Nintendo hasn't revealed what patents Palworld allegedly violates

The studio plans to defend itself against Nintendo's lawsuit, but it also claims to not even know what patents Palworld is accused of violating.

Justin Carter, Contributing Editor

September 19, 2024

1 Min Read
A monster with a gun in Palworld.
Image via Pocketpair.

Following yesterday's lawsuit from Nintendo and the Pokémon Company, Palworld developer Pocketpair says it's "unaware of the specific patents" it's alleged to have infringed upon.

In a statement posted on the PocketPair website, the studio revealed it wasn't notified of specifics and said it's "truly unfortunate that we're forced to allocate significant time to matters unrelated to game development due to this lawsuit."

"Our goal as a company has always been to create fun games," wrote Pocketpair. "We will continue to pursue this goal because we know that our games bring joy to millions of players around the world."

No specific patents were listed in Nintendo's press release announcing the lawsuit. The Switch maker previously indicated it would investigate whether to take legal action against Palworld not long after its January release and subsequent success.

At the time, Nintendo said it'd been informed Pocketpair infringed on the copyright of its own monster catching franchise, spurred in part by Palworld itself being commonly referred to as "Pokémon with Guns."

Pocketpair continued its statement by claiming it's simply a "small indie [studio] based in Tokyo" and pledged to "ensure that indie game developers are not hindered or discouraged from pursuing their creative ideas."

"We will continue improving Palworld and strive to create a game that our fans can be proud of," adds the statement. "We apologize to our fans and supporters for any worry or discomfort that this news has caused."

About the Author

Justin Carter

Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com

A Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.

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