The inner workings ofPalworldhave been altered in the latest update, possibly due to the Nintendo lawsuit filed against it.Palworldhas been subject to accusations of plagiarismand copyright infringement from the beginning, mainly focused on its character designs and gameplay mechanics' similarity to certain aspects ofPokémon. While this caused some controversy in the early days of its release,Palworldhas risen to unprecedented popularity. Concern arose among its player base, however, whenNintendo announced it would be suingPalworlddeveloper Pocketpair, Inc. for multiple counts of patent infringement.
That concern was renewed today whenPalworldversion 0.3.11 featured changes to Pal Spheres, the palm-sized, spherical devices players use to capture and summon their Pals. The changes were first spotted byNiche Gamer, but do appear to be reflected inPalworld’s patch notes viaSteam: “Changed the behaviour of summoning player-owned Pals so that they are always summoned near the player.”
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In practice, what that means is thatwhen a player summons a Pal, they no longer do so by throwing the Pal Sphere wherever they want them to appear. Instead, the Pal will simply pop up directly next to the player, and can then be commanded to attack other Pals, gather resources, et cetera. While it doesn’t fundamentally change the way the game works, it does have a palpable effect on one of its core mechanics, a change that has some players concerned.
What Nintendo’s Palworld Lawsuit Is All About
And How It May Have Affected Pal Spheres
It’s important to note thatNintendo’s lawsuit doesn’t claim copyright infringement onPalworld’s part; the actual charge is patent infringement, which is pointedly different. Where copyright infringement might refer to unlicensed use of another company’s character designs (things like bootleg Pikachus), patent infringement refers more to registered inventions (things like hardware, or more presciently in this case, aspects of game design).
Although full details of the case have yet to be revealed, aForbesarticle published earlier this month reveals just what patents Nintendo allegesPalworldinfringed upon. There are three, but one of them in particular is pretty revealing:Nintendo claims to own the patent on aiming and firing certain items towards enemies in an overworld field to begin combat. Again, the exact contents of that patent aren’t totally clear, so there are likely more specifics at play here. But just on the surface,that definitely sounds likehow Pal Spheres work.
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So the removal of Pal Spheres may be because of their gameplay similarities toPokémonmechanics, not their visual ones. Still,no one atPalworldor Pocketpair in general has revealed that this is the reason for the sudden Pal Sphere changes. The patch notes aren’t exactly verbose or revealing. At best, the timing appears to be suspect, but this change could very well have been instituted for a completely different reason, unbeknownst to us.
Whatever their cause,the updates haven’t been popular withPalworld’s player base. Some, like X (formerly Twitter) user @QueenWarden48, claim the lack of control over where Pals spawn makes it harder to win battles.
The update appears to have caused certain technical issues, too. Others say their Pals have been spawning beneath the ground, or blocking their vision by appearing right in front of the player character with no concept of personal space. And still others claim the changes to the targeting reticle have made it more difficult to aim accurately. Still, believing they result from the Nintendo lawsuit, many are supportive of the sudden changes, even if they hope they’re reversed soon.
Our Take: Software Patents Stifle Creativity
Palworld Invites Controversy, But This Is Too Far
Look, we all knew that something like this was bound to happen eventually.Palworldwas always playing with fire, and Nintendo is notoriously litigious. But regardless of where you land on the accusations levied againstPalworld, it’s easy to see howsoftware patent infringement claims could be taken too far. Most infamously, Namco once held a patent on loading screen mini-games that prevented almost any kind of interactivity during these periods of downtime. That patent expired in 2015, but even now, loading screen mini-games still haven’t made the resurgence they deserve.
Something similar could happen as a result of this lawsuit. Beginning combat by aiming and firing with a targeting reticle is all too common a mechanic. To see that disappear entirely would be a huge blow to open-world games with optional combat. There may be more specifics to Nintendo’s patent, and there may be an entirely different reason for the update, but at this point, it’s impossible to say exactly what’s going on behind the scenes. Still, if the rumors are true, this lawsuit could be harmful not only toPalworldspecifically, but to the video game industry in general.
Sources:Niche Gamer,Steam,Forbes, @QueenWarden48/X
Palworld
Palworld is an open-world crafting survival RPG developed by Pocket Pair Inc. and released in 2024. Set in a colorful, open-ended world, players will travel the land collecting creatures called “Pals” as they battle, build, travel across the world, and choose their path forward. From a ruthless creature boss to an anti-poaching activist hunter, players can tackle Palworld how they want.
