‘It is truly unfortunate’: Palworld dev responds to Nintendo’s Pokémon lawsuit

On Sept. 18, Nintendo took action against Palworld, filing a patent infringement lawsuit citing similarities to Pokémon, and now developer Pocketpair has fired back with its official response.

Nintendo threw a curveball in the works when it revealed it has hit Palworld developer Pocketpair with an infringement lawsuit—presumably due to its Pokémon comparisons. Pocketpair has now responded to the lawsuit in a Sept. 19 post on X, saying the lawsuit is “unfortunate” but the company is beginning “the appropriate legal proceedings and investigations into the claims of patent infringement.”

It’s no secret much of Palworld‘s launch was dogged by constant comparisons to Pokémon: The ability to battle and capture a multitude of monsters, throwable balls of varying quality, and leveling up Pals and training them. Now, the RPG branded “Pokémon with guns” needs to prepare for a battle.

Nintendo issued an official statement on Sept. 18 explaining the nature of the lawsuit. “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,” the statement read.

In Pocketpair’s response, it states it “received notice of this lawsuit” but is “unaware of the specific patents” it’s accused of infringing upon and has “not been notified of such details.”

While Pocketpair prepares to battle Nintendo over its claims, the company has said it’s “truly unfortunate that we will be forced to allocate significant time to matters unrelated to game development due to this lawsuit.” In a striking statement, though, Pocketpair went on to say it wants to ensure “indie game developers are not hindered or discouraged from pursuing their creative ideas.”

The statement concludes with an apology to fans for the ongoing situation and thanks everyone for their patience. With millions of copies sold and thousands of players still logging in each day to experience the vibrant world of Palworld, we’ll continue to monitor what is sure to be a fascinating legal case between Pocketpair and Nintendo in the battle of Palworld v. Pokémon.