Nintendo is definitely suing Palworld developer over throwing Poké Balls

The Pokémon Company and Nintendo are suing Palworld developer Pocketpair for 10 million yen, which is roughly the equivalent of $65,600, and late payment damages, according to a statement released by Pocketpair on Friday. The lawsuit targets three patents that cover gameplay where players ride Pokémon and throw Poké Balls.

The Pokémon Company and Nintendo formally filed a suit against Pocketpair last September. At the time, the press release from the two companies said they were seeking an injunction and compensation “on the grounds that Palworld… infringes multiple patent rights,” but the companies did not clarify how much they were seeking in damages. On Friday, Pocketpair provided the public with a current status of the case.

According to this new update from Pocketpair, the Pokémon co-owners claim Palworld infringes on three patents held by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo, and that the two companies are seeking an “injunction against the game and compensation for a portion of the damages incurred between the date of registration of the patents and the date of filing of this lawsuit.”

The Palworld developers said the lawsuit targets three patents in particular: Patent No. 7545191, Patent No. 7493117, and Patent No. 7528390. So far, a lot of the popular conversation has focused on the design similarities between the creatures known as Pals, and Pokémon. However, The Pokémon Company and Nintendo aren’t suing for copyright infringement; the lawsuit focuses on gameplay central to certain Pokémon games. These three patents involve specific gameplay around riding Pokémon and catching Pokémon with a Poké Ball.

Pocketpair did not provide additional context of the nature of the injunction. Injunctions are typically used to restrain a company from continuing harm — in this case, it would be continuing to infringe on The Pokémon Company and Nintendo’s patents. Palworld has maintained service and launched the game to new platforms since the lawsuit was filed in September, however.

Pocketpair released Palworld in early 2024. The game became an instant hit, selling over 12 million copies on Steam and garnering more than 7 million players on Xbox. However, people online criticized the game for appearing to copying creatures and concepts from Pokémon games, and claimed that the developers stole designs from the Pokémon franchise to create certain Pal creatures.

As for what will happen next, Pocketpair says that it “will continue to assert our position in this case through future legal proceedings.”