Nintendo is still suing the developers of Palworld, Pocketpair, for allegedly infringing on multiple patents related to game mechanics. The lawsuit has raised concerns about competition and creativity in the gaming industry.

The lawsuit between Nintendo and Palworld’s developer, Pocketpair, involves allegations of patent infringement related to game mechanics, particularly those similar to Pokémon’s capturing creatures in the wild and riding them. Nintendo is seeking damages and an injunction against Palworld, which has led to the removal of certain gameplay features in response to the legal threats.

In November, Pocketpair confirmed the three Japan-based patents, which revolve around catching Pokémon in a virtual field, it is being sued over.

Palworld does include a mechanic that involves throwing a ball-like object (called a Pal Sphere) at monsters out in a field to capture them, similar to the mechanic seen in the 2022 Nintendo Switch exclusive Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

Despite making these changes, Pocketpair said it will continue to dispute the claims made in the lawsuit, focusing on asserting the “invalidity” of the patents.

Pocketpair has now provided an update admitting recent changes made to the game were indeed the result of the legal threats. Pocketpair confirmed that Patch v0.3.11, released in November 2024, was the result of the ongoing litigation. This patch removed the ability to summon Pals by throwing Pal Spheres and instead changed it to a static summon next to the player. Several other game mechanics were also changed with this patch.