When multi-platform video game Palworld released in early-access form in January 2024, it garnered generally positive reviews and substantial interest across social media and the gaming press.
IGN gave it an 8/10, praising Palworld’s “deep survival mechanics and a hilarious attitude” that “make it hard to put down”.
But the colourful, bizarre title quickly was also met with a degree of bemusement for its undeniably close appearance to Nintendo’s flagship IP Pokemon.
Palworld’s Sparkit (L) vs Pokemon mascot Pikachu (R) – Image credit: IGN
The similarities in character and environment design cannot be disputed, barring one glaring difference- Palworld’s gun-wielding protagonist.
This key difference in gameplay mechanics, in which the main character beats his enemies with firearms instead of the family-friendly ‘pokeballs’ in Pokemon, gave Palword the unofficial title of ‘Pokemon with Guns’.
It was a gutsy move on Palworld creator Pocketpair’s behalf to so obviously wear Pokemon influences on its sleeve given Nintendo’s notoriously hawkish legal department.
Pokemon with guns? – Image credit: Pocketpair
Yet seven months went by without any rumblings from Nintendo’s lawyers- until today.
In a court filing before the Tokyo District Court, Nintendo is seeking “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”.
Nintendo said it “intends 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”.
It is unclear with patents Nintendo has accused Pockpair of infringing. The decision to pursue patent infringement over trademark or design infringement is curious, suggesting that Nintendo may be focusing on certain gameplay mechanics and not just character designs.
This puts Pocketpair on a collision course with one of the most powerful entertainment companies in the world which could derail the full release of Palworld aka Pokemon with Guns.
Responding to the lawsuit, Pocketpair stated: “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.”
Despite the legal action, Pocketpair, which calls itself “a small indie game company based in Tokyo”, said it will “continue improving Palworld and strive to create a game that our fans can be proud of”.