Nintendo and The Pokémon Company file lawsuit against Palworld eight months later

• Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have filed a lawsuit against Palworld
• Nintendo will "take necessary actions against any infringement of its intellectual property rights"

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocket Pair’s Palworld.

A breakout hit this January, Palworld quickly racked up millions of installs, even more millions of dollars, and secured Xbox its best month for playtime on record.

However, Palworld’s popularity wasn’t entirely on its own merit, as it triggered an internet buzz around character designs’ striking resemblances to Pokémon. The similarities were enough to earn Palworld the colloquial fan name Pokémon with Guns, with theories abound that characters like Lucario to Pikachu had a Pal imitation.

A child-friendly image

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s lawsuit was filed on September 18th, 2024 and seeks compensation for the damage Palworld has allegedly caused through multiple patent infringements.

The suit was filed in the Tokyo District Court almost eight months after The Pokémon Company announced its investigation into a "game released in January 2024," which was heavily speculated at the time to be Palworld and reinforced by the new lawsuit.

In January, The Pokémon Company also confirmed that it intended to "investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon".

Guns aside, Palworld’s gameplay involves hunting and capturing Pals to battle on behalf of the player. While Pokémon doesn’t hold the copyright to the monster collector genre, capturing Pals in a Pal Sphere was also likened by some to throwing Poké Balls. This is believed to be the patent in question and the basis for the lawsuit, as opposed to the Pals' designs themselves.

In a clear attempt to counter any brand damage caused by Pokémon with Guns, The Pokémon Company has also assured fans that it will "continue to cherish and nurture each and every Pokémon and its world".

With the new legal filing, Nintendo has weighed in: "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."

Pocket Pair has responded to the suit: "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 of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon, and we have not been notified of such details.

"We will continue improving Palworld and strive to create a game that our fans can be proud of."

The latest lawsuit immediately follows The Pokémon Company winning $15 million in a copyright case against Pocket Monster Reissue.