Palworld devs recently spoke about how Nintendo’s patent infringement lawsuit “came as a shock” for them.
As reported by GamesRadar+, Pocketpair’s communications director and publishing manager, John ‘Bucky’ Buckley, addressed Nintendo’s lawsuit against Palworld during a panel at GDC 2025. Bucky first spoke about the “little thing that happened in September”, where a company decided to come for them. Bucky explained that he doesn’t want to talk about it too much as it is “an active lawsuit”, and he doesn’t want to get “wrapped up” in the situation.
Bucky added that Nintendo’s patent infringement lawsuit “came as a shock” to them, considering they had received a green signal for all the legal checks in Japan before the game was released. The lawsuit was a shock for many people, as it was something the devs had never “considered” and is something they are “still hashing out basically.”
Bucky elaborated that the lawsuit didn’t “feel good” considering they had been “pretty vocal” about Palworld before the game was released. However, after contacting lawyers and courts, they realised that the lawsuit was for patents. When the information was released to the public, it was a “pretty depressing day” for the devs as “pretty much everyone at Pocketpair is a huge fan”. At the same time, they were gearing up for the PlayStation release and a showcase at the Tokyo Game Show, which had to be scaled back due to legal problems.
In other news, Nintendo has acquired a new patent that helps their lawsuit against Palworld. Also, Pocketpair publishing has warned gamers not to expect “more Palworld”. What are your thoughts on Palworld devs being shocked about Nintendo’s lawsuit? Let us know in the comments or on our community forum!
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