Palworld devs 'disappointed' as they patch out a game mechanic to appease Nintendo, but 'the alternative would have led to an even greater deterioration'

Today, Palworld received a new patch. Update v0.5.5 doesn't add any new features, Pals, or environments. It doesn't fix any bugs or offer any optimization improvements. Instead, the accompanying Steam news post from developer Pocketpair only includes one patch note:

• Mechanics Adjustment: The mechanics for gliding with a Pal have been changed. Until now, you could use certain Pals as a glider, however from this patch you will only be able to glide by using a glider. Glider Pals will now provide a new passive partner skill effect while gliding, but the player must have a glider equipped to actually glide.

Pocketpair offered additional context for the update in a post on X, explaining that the adjustment to Pal gliding was "another compromise" made in response to Nintendo's ongoing lawsuit, which alleges that Pocketpair infringed on a series of patents protecting Pokémon game mechanics.

In its tweet, Pocketpair confirmed that an earlier November 2024 update to Palworld, which made it so Pals were summoned beside the player instead of released from Poké Ball-esque spheres, had been implemented to address the lawsuit allegations.

"As many have speculated, these changes were indeed a result of the ongoing litigation. Everyone here at Pocketpair was disappointed that this adjustment had to be made, and we fully understand that many players feel the same frustration," Pocketpair said. "Unfortunately, as the alternative would have led to an even greater deterioration of the gameplay experience for players, it was determined that this change was necessary."

Likewise, Pocketpair said that today's patch was "necessary in order to prevent further disruptions to the development of Palworld."

Pocketpair doesn't specify what that "greater deterioration of the gameplay experience" might have been, but considering Nintendo's history of pursuing a salted-earth legal strategy, I suspect it was less a matter of maintaining fun gameplay and more about the game's continued existence.

The patents asserted in Nintendo's lawsuit, JP7545191, JP7493117, and JP7528390, grant protections on a series of mechanics related to catching and riding Pokémon as implemented in 2022's Pokémon Legends: Arceus. By updating Palworld to distance its mechanics from those described in Nintendo's asserted patents, Pocketpair is following a prediction made by videogame IP lawyer Kirk Sigmon, who spoke to PC Gamer in September 2024 about the lawsuit's potential outcomes.

The lawsuit, Sigmon said, presents risks for both sides. For Nintendo, the risk would be losing those patents entirely. Personally speaking, my criticisms of Palworld are pretty well-documented, and even I think the idea that Nintendo can claim a patent on riding a creature around is both absurd and blatantly noncompetitive. If a judge agreed, they'd have grounds to revoke those protections. But IP lawsuits are notoriously expensive, and every week the lawsuit continues is one in which Pocketpair is bleeding legal fees—and I personally wouldn't want to try to outlast Nintendo's legal budget.

As a result, Sigmon's prediction in September was that neither party would want to prolong the lawsuit. "You get them in a room, you go, 'Look, neither of us want to do this. What do you want done?' It could be something as simple as a licensing agreement," Sigmon said. "You could say, 'We're going to agree to some changes in the game,' and add some conditions. Usually, both parties before they even go into those meetings have a general idea of the sphere of things they're willing to agree to."