Palworld dev says it will fight Nintendo lawsuit ‘to ensure indies aren’t discouraged from pursuing ideas’

Palworld developer Pocketpair has responded to news that Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have filed a patent lawsuit against it.

Nintendo and TPC filed the lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday, seeking an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages “on the grounds that Palworld… infringes multiple patent rights.”

Now, in its own statement published on Thursday, Pocketpair has said it believes it’s “truly unfortunate that we will be forced to allocate significant time to matters unrelated to game development” due to the lawsuit.

“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,” it said.

Pocketpair’s full statement can be read below:

Released in January via Steam Early Access and Xbox Game Preview, the monster-catching survival game Palworld was an immediate hit, attracting 25 million players in just its first month, according to Pocketpair.

However, the game’s huge success ignited debate around perceived similarities between its character designs and those of the Pokémon games.

However, since the lawsuit filed this week is a patent suit – and not a copyright suit – it suggests Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s complaint is likely focused on its gameplay inventions, rather than similarities between character designs.

As noted in its statement above, Pocketpair claims it’s “unaware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon” and that it hasn’t been notified.

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company said in a statement: “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.”