Palworld Modders Reinstate Mechanics Removed Due to Nintendo, Pokémon Legal Action

In a bold move, modders of the popular game Palworld are stepping up to restore game mechanics that were removed by developer Pocketpair due to legal pressures from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. Following Pocketpair's acknowledgment last week that recent patches were influenced by the ongoing patent lawsuit, the modding community has quickly responded by bringing back beloved features.

Palworld burst onto the scene early in 2024, launching on Steam for $30 and simultaneously on Xbox and PC via Game Pass. The game shattered sales records and boasted unprecedented concurrent player numbers. Takuro Mizobe, the head of Pocketpair, admitted that the game's success was so overwhelming that the company struggled to manage the influx of profits. Capitalizing on this, Pocketpair swiftly moved to expand its reach, signing a deal with Sony to establish Palworld Entertainment, aimed at further developing the IP. This expansion culminated in a PS5 release.

The game's launch sparked discussions and comparisons to Pokémon, with 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 each plus additional damages and an injunction to halt Palworld's distribution.

Pocketpair confirmed in November that it was being sued over three Japan-based patents related to capturing creatures in a virtual environment. Palworld originally featured a mechanic similar to Pokémon Legends: Arceus, where players could capture creatures using a Pal Sphere. However, following legal action, Patch v0.3.11 in November 2024 altered this mechanic, removing the ability to summon Pals by throwing Pal Spheres and replacing it with a static summon. Additional mechanics were also modified in this patch.

Pocketpair justified these changes, stating that without them, the gameplay experience could have deteriorated further. The latest update, Patch v0.5.5, further modified the game by changing the gliding mechanic to require a glider in the player's inventory, rather than using Pals directly for gliding.

In response, modders have quickly moved to restore the original gliding feature. The Glider Restoration mod by Primarinabee, available on Nexus Mods since May 10, has already seen hundreds of downloads. This mod effectively reverses the changes made in Patch v0.5.5, allowing players to glide with their Pals again, albeit still requiring a glider in the inventory. The mod's description playfully states, "Palworld Patch 0.5.5? What? That didn't happen!" and aims to reinstate the joy of flying with Pals.

Another mod attempts to restore the throw-to-release Pal mechanic, though it lacks the original ball-throwing animation. The future availability of these mods remains uncertain as the lawsuit continues.

During the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March, John "Bucky" Buckley, communications director and publishing manager for Pocketpair, discussed the studio's challenges, including accusations of using generative AI and copying Pokémon models, which have been debunked. Buckley also touched on the unexpected nature of the patent lawsuit, describing it as a "shock" to the studio.