Weeks ago, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Pocketpair, the creators of Palworld, for patent infringement. Now, new details reveal that Nintendo is seeking 10 million yen (about $66,000 USD) plus late payment damages—a surprisingly small amount for a game that has sold 25 million units on PC and Xbox. This lawsuit, however, is less about the money and more about the patents Nintendo claims were violated.
The patents in question cover gameplay mechanics like aiming and firing items in a ‘field’ setting, capturing creatures in the wild (not just in battles), and riding creatures in an open world. These are actions common in many games, so it’s unclear why Palworld is targeted.
Unlike typical Nintendo games, Palworld features real-time open-world combat, where players fight alongside their monsters and weaken enemies to capture them. Nintendo, known for its strict IP enforcement, likely believes it has grounds for this case, but the suit feels more like a warning than a serious financial pursuit.
Pocketpair will face costly legal fees, raising questions about why Nintendo pursued this at all—it almost feels like patent trolling in a very unusual case.
