Fans criticise Nintendo’s “predatory” Palworld lawsuit

Palworld has been sued by Nintendo and honestly, I'm not surprised. The so-called 'Pokémon with guns' open-world survival game was hugely popular upon its release back in January, but for many fans, it was only a matter of time before Nintendo addressed the elephant in the room – that strikingly similar character design.

Arguably it was a long time coming, but now nine months later Nintendo has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Palworld. While the game's developer, Pocketpair, claims it's "unaware of the specific patents" infringed upon, the dispute has opened up a wider discussion around the creative freedom of indie developers.

In an official release, Nintendo announced it would be taking legal action against Palworld, clarifying "This lawsuit seeks 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." While Palworld's character design shares similarities to the Pokémon art style, in my opinion, the game's standalone success hinges on its crafting and combat, rather than its allegedly derivative character design.

In response, Pocketpair made a statement thanking fans for their continued support. "Our goal as a company has always been to create fun games. We will continue to pursue this goal because we know that our games bring joy to millions of gamers around the world. Palworld was a surprise success this year, both for gamers and for us. We were blown away by the amazing response to the game and have been working hard to make it even better for our fans. We will continue improving Palworld and strive to create a game that our fans can be proud of."

Palworld developers respond, says it will fight Nintendo lawsuit ‘to ensure indies aren’t discouraged from pursuing ideas’ from r/gaming

Fans on Reddit were quick to share their support for the indie dev, with one user writing "Copyright infringement is one thing, but claiming patent infringement (and the existence of game design patents) is almost always predatory in game development." Another chimed in "I really hate how patent and copyright law forces companies to be extremely litigious and aggressive with these lawsuits. You have a company sitting on an IP and letting it rot, and then making sure that no one else can make good games either. I really hope Nintendo loses this because it's patently ridiculous."

With big-name companies like EA going all in on AI for video game design, it's crucial that we support small indie devs and nurture human creativity. While Nintendo's response to Palworld was undoubtedly anticipated, it's hopeful to see gaming fans banding together in support of the game and its developers. If you're after more gaming news, check out what went wrong with Sony's $100m PS5 flop, Concord.