The will-they-won’t-they finally has an answer and it’s not looking good for Palworld. The Japanese studio is being sued by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company.
Nintendo itself announced the suit on its corporate site, stating it’s seeking compensation for damages based on patent violations. This is interesting as it’s not quite a copyright infringement case. It could still be related to models that look a tad too similar to the Japanese giant’s IP, but it’s not totally clear.
Palworld, which has been brandished as “Pokemon with guns,” released to Early Access earlier this year to great success, quickly earning a following. The game itself shares the creature capture element while shoving in survival, base building, open world exploration, and more into the mix. It’s generally, for those who like it, a breath of air compared to Nintendo’s fare.
This news comes as Pocketpair has dashed the idea of the game going free-to-play and turning into a full-fledged live service.
Smash Jump’s Julian Barber said even in its Early Access state, it “far exceeded the expectations” he had. He also said: “The exploration can feel challenging but fair, and the rewarding feeling you get from leveling up your base or catching a Pal with an extremely low catch rate is amazing.”
