Palworld removes Pokeball-like mechanics after Nintendo lawsuit

We may be seeing the first fruits of Nintendo’s lawsuit against Palworld as the survival game changed the way players summoned pocket monsters that looked nothing like Pokemon.

According to the latest patch notes, released on November 29th, monsters in Palworld will no longer be summoned into battle by aiming and throwing the Pal Orbs containing them, but will instead simply appear near the player when summoned.

Palworld launched on January 19 after years of teasers promoting the game as an open-world Pokemon-style game where monsters can be ridden, equipped with AK-47s, and recruited as slaves in weapons factories. Its wacky concept and inclusion on Xbox Game Pass generated a lot of buzz at first, but… Palworld soon gained the wrong kind of attention when Nintendo and The Pokémon Company sued developer Pocketpair for patent infringement in September 2024.

The lawsuit related to the mechanics of throwing a Pokeball and riding a Pokémon, for which Nintendo and The Pokémon Company hold patents in Japan. Since filing the lawsuit, Pocketpair has released Palworld on PlayStation 5 and mobile devices outside of Japan, but the November 29 update to the game’s throwing mechanics could indicate that the studio has decided to comply rather than suffer through a lengthy legal battle against Nintendo and The Pokémon Company.

Something related to Palworld is scheduled to appear at The Game Awards on December 12, although the game did not receive a single nomination.