"Hey, but it looks like Pokémon with guns!". We all made this remark when we discovered the first trailer for Palworld. It must be said that it's hard not to see the influences of Nintendo's franchise on Pocket Pair's title, whose early access launch really caused a sensation last year. And when you know how attached the Kyoto company is to its IPs, we all wondered how it would end. Today we have some initial answers, and it looks complicated for the studio.
Palworld revises its copy because of Nintendo
It was through a long press release published on X that Pocket Pair actually discussed the future of Palworld. "We currently remain involved in protracted legal proceedings regarding allegations of patent infringement," the company explains. "We continue to contest these allegations and assert the invalidity of the patents in question. However, we have had to make certain compromises to avoid disrupting the development and distribution of Palworld.".
This explains why certain mechanics have disappeared since the arrival of patch v0.3.11, deployed on November 30th. The main one being, unsurprisingly, the ability to summon Pals by throwing Spheres, which were reminiscent of summoning Pokémon with Pokéballs. "Everyone here at Pocket Pair was disappointed that this adjustment had to be made, and we completely understand that many players feel the same frustration," the studio continued.
And unfortunately, things aren't going to get any better, as the new update scheduled for May 8th will also lead to the removal of a game mechanic. "Starting with this patch, gliding will be done using a glider rather than using Pals," Pocket Pair explained. "Pals on the player's party will continue to provide passive gliding buffs, but players will now need to have a glider in their inventory to glide.".
New content is coming
"We hope our fans understand that these changes are necessary to avoid further disruptions to the development of Palworld," the studio concludes, while ensuring that it is "determined to develop [the game] and offer exciting new content" in the future. The latter also took the opportunity to cheerfully thank his community for its support, especially during this difficult time. It remains to be seen how far Nintendo will go to defend its interests against Palworld.
Source: Pocket Pair
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