Palworld modders are stepping up to restore gameplay mechanics that were removed by developer Pocketpair due to legal pressures from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. In response to the ongoing patent lawsuit, Pocketpair was compelled to alter several game features, which has led the modding community to take action.
Launched early in 2024, Palworld quickly became a sensation, available on Steam for $30 and through Game Pass on Xbox and PC. It shattered sales and concurrent player records. The game's overwhelming success overwhelmed Pocketpair, with CEO Takuro Mizobe admitting the studio struggled to manage the flood of profits. Capitalizing on this success, Pocketpair swiftly formed a new business venture with Sony called Palworld Entertainment to expand the game's intellectual property, later bringing Palworld to the PS5.
Following its launch, Palworld faced accusations of copying Pokémon designs, leading to legal action from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. Instead of pursuing a copyright infringement lawsuit, they opted for a patent lawsuit, seeking 5 million yen each plus 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 field. The game's mechanic of capturing monsters with a Pal Sphere was similar to the mechanic in the 2022 Nintendo Switch game, Pokémon Legends: Arceus. In response to the legal action, Pocketpair released Patch v0.3.11 in November 2024, which altered the summoning mechanic from throwing Pal Spheres to a static summon next to the player. Additional gameplay mechanics were also modified.
Pocketpair acknowledged that without these changes, the gameplay experience would have deteriorated further. Last week's Patch v0.5.5 introduced more adjustments, changing the gliding mechanic to require a glider in the player's inventory rather than using Pals directly. Pals still offer passive gliding buffs, but the direct use of Pals for gliding was removed.
Pocketpair described these adjustments as "compromises" necessitated by the threat of an injunction that could stop Palworld's development and sales.
In a swift response, modders have now reinstated the gliding mechanic with Primarinabee’s Glider Restoration mod, available on Nexus Mods. This mod effectively reverses the changes made in Patch v0.5.5, allowing players to glide with their Pals as before, albeit still requiring a glider in the inventory. Released on May 10, the mod has already seen hundreds of downloads.
Another mod attempts to restore the throw-to-release mechanic for Pals, but it lacks the original ball-throwing animation, instead summoning the Pal at the player's gaze. The longevity of these mods remains uncertain due to the ongoing lawsuit.
At the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March, IGN interviewed John “Bucky” Buckley, Pocketpair's communications director and publishing manager. Following his talk, 'Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop,' Buckley discussed various challenges Palworld faced, including debunking accusations of using generative AI and stealing Pokémon models. He also touched on the unexpected patent infringement lawsuit from Nintendo, stating it was a shock to the studio.
