Nintendo vs. Pocketpair: Palworld Patent Lawsuit Updates

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are pursuing a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair Inc., the developer of the open-world survival game Palworld, in the Tokyo District Court. The legal action, which has extended into 2026, seeks financial damages and an injunction to block the distribution of Palworld in Japan.

The lawsuit was officially filed on September 19, 2024. Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are seeking approximately 10 million yen, which is roughly $66,000, in damages.

Core Patent Disputes

The legal claims focus on patent infringement regarding gameplay mechanics rather than character designs. Nintendo asserts that Palworld violates three specific patents granted by the Japan Patent Office (JPO) concerning creature-capture mechanisms and systems for riding characters.

The patents at the center of the case include:

• Patent JP7493117, which covers the basic mechanism of capturing a creature by aiming with an analog stick and pressing a button, followed by a system check to determine if ownership transfers to the player.
• Patent JP7545191, which expands on the capture system by adding success-rate indicators and the specific action of launching an item to catch a character.
• A third patent related to the systems used for switching between riding different creatures within open-world environments.

The timing of these filings has become a point of contention. While the patents are derived from earlier Nintendo patents dating from 2021, the three specific patents used in the lawsuit were filed in 2024. Specifically, Patent JP7545191 was filed in June 2024, five months after Palworld’s release, and received expedited approval in August 2024.

Legal Setbacks and Adjustments

The case has encountered several complications throughout 2025. On July 25, 2025, Nintendo reworded one of the patents involved in the case while the lawsuit was ongoing.

Further setbacks occurred in late 2025 when the Japan Patent Office rejected a key patent application from Nintendo, citing a lack of originality. This followed a period where Nintendo submitted revised or new patents to the courts in an attempt to retrospectively claim rights to specific gaming mechanics.

As of January 18, 2026, reports indicate that the case has yet to reach trial, though the proceedings have been extended into 2026.

Business Context and Market Impact

The litigation follows the rapid commercial success of Palworld, which launched in early access on January 19, 2024. The game sold 8 million copies within six days of its release and reached over 25 million players within one month.

The game’s mechanics, which involve capturing creatures called Pals using sphere-shaped objects, led to widespread comparisons to the Pokémon franchise. These similarities resulted in the game being nicknamed Pokémon with guns.

In response to the game’s growth, Pocketpair partnered with Sony in June 2024 to form Palworld Entertainment, a business venture designed to expand the intellectual property.