Palworld responds to “truly unfortunate” Nintendo lawsuit

Palworld developer Pocketpair has officially responded to Nintendo’s lawsuit after the title dubbed “Pokemon with guns” by fans had multiple monster designs called out for their similarity to existing Pokemon online.

Nintendo originally made a statement in February 2024 after the launch of Palworld saying that it had been made aware of the game and that it would respond appropriately if any existing copyright had been infringed.

Now, after Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have officially filed a lawsuit against Pocketpair for patent infringement, the Palworld developer has responded in a public statement.

The statement explains that Palworld developer Pocketpair was made aware of the lawsuit yesterday, but they continue, adding the team “will begin the appropriate legal proceedings and investigations into the claims of patent infringement.”

Pocketpair also explains, “At this moment, we are unaware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon, and we have not been notified of such details.”

It looks like the announcement of the lawsuit is bad news for Palworld players, as the team expects to be held up with legal proceedings. As the statement reads, “It is truly unfortunate that we will be forced to allocate significant time to matters unrelated to game development due to this lawsuit.”

But Pocketpair offers some encouraging words for the player base: “However, we will do our utmost for our fans, and to ensure that indie game developers are not hindered or discouraged from pursuing their creative ideas.”

To learn more about the controversy, check out our guide explaining the Pokemon and Palworld drama, read a lawyer’s opinion on the lawsuit, and see what Palworld fans have to say as well.