In a bold move, modders of the popular game Palworld are stepping up to reinstate gameplay mechanics that were removed by developer Pocketpair due to legal pressures from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. This action follows Pocketpair's admission last week that recent patches to the game were necessitated by an ongoing patent lawsuit.
Palworld burst onto the scene early in 2024, available on Steam for $30 and immediately accessible through Game Pass on Xbox and PC. The game shattered sales records and set new benchmarks for concurrent player counts. Takuro Mizobe, the head of Pocketpair, remarked that the game's launch was so successful that the company struggled to manage the influx of profits. Capitalizing on this success, Pocketpair quickly inked a deal with Sony to establish Palworld Entertainment, aimed at expanding the game's intellectual property, and subsequently released the game on the PS5.
Following Palworld's launch, the game drew comparisons to Pokémon, leading to accusations of design plagiarism. However, instead of pursuing a copyright infringement lawsuit, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company opted for a patent lawsuit, seeking 5 million yen (approximately $32,846) each, plus damages for late payments, and an injunction to halt Palworld's release.
In November, Pocketpair acknowledged the three Japan-based patents at the heart of the lawsuit, which involve capturing creatures in a virtual field—a mechanic similar to that used in Pokémon Legends: Arceus on the Nintendo Switch. Six months later, Pocketpair confirmed that changes made in Patch v0.3.11, released in November 2024, were a direct result of the legal action. This patch altered the method of summoning Pals from throwing Pal Spheres to a static summon beside the player, along with other gameplay modifications.
Pocketpair justified these changes by stating that not making them would have led to a more significant negative impact on the player experience. The studio also disclosed that last week's Patch v0.5.5 modified the gliding mechanic, requiring players to use a glider rather than their Pals, although Pals still offer passive gliding buffs.
These adjustments were described by Pocketpair as "compromises" made under the threat of an injunction that could stop Palworld's development and sales. However, modders have swiftly responded by reintroducing the original gliding mechanic. The mod, known as Primarinabee’s Glider Restoration, is available on Nexus Mods and has garnered hundreds of downloads since its release on May 10. This mod cleverly reverses the changes introduced in Patch v0.5.5, allowing players to glide with their Pals as before, albeit with a glider still required in the inventory.
Additionally, another mod aims to restore the throw-to-release mechanic for Pals, although it lacks the original ball-throwing animation and instead summons the Pal at the player's current viewpoint. The longevity of these mods remains uncertain as the lawsuit continues.
During the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March, IGN had an in-depth discussion with John “Bucky” Buckley, Pocketpair's communications director and publishing manager. Buckley, who had just given a talk titled 'Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop,' shared insights into Palworld's challenges, including accusations of using generative AI and copying Pokémon models—claims that have been refuted. He also touched upon the unexpected nature of the patent lawsuit from Nintendo, which he said came as a complete surprise to the studio.