Palworld Addresses “Unfortunate” Lawsuit from Nintendo

Palworld developer Pocketpair has officially responded to Nintendo’s lawsuit after the game, affectionately referred to as “Pokemon with guns” by fans, faced scrutiny due to several monster designs that bear resemblance to existing Pokémon.

Nintendo initially addressed the situation in January 2024, announcing that they were aware of Palworld’s launch and would take appropriate action if any copyrights were found to be violated.

Following the formal filing of a lawsuit by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company against Pocketpair for patent infringement, the developer has released an official statement regarding the matter.

Regarding the LawsuitYesterday, 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…

— Palworld (@Palworld_EN) September 19, 2024

The statement clarified that Pocketpair was notified of the lawsuit just yesterday, and they intend to initiate the necessary legal processes and inquiries related to the allegations of patent infringement.

Pocketpair also mentioned, “Currently, we do not have information regarding the specific patents that we are allegedly infringing, as no detailed notification has been provided.”

This lawsuit seems to spell trouble for Palworld players, as the development team anticipates delays due to the legal proceedings. They expressed, “It is truly unfortunate that we will have to devote considerable time to issues unrelated to game development because of this lawsuit.”

Nonetheless, Pocketpair has given a reassuring message to their players, stating, “However, we will do our best for our fans and to ensure that indie game developers continue to pursue their creative visions without fear of hindrance.”

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