Image: Pocketpair
Pocketpair is seemingly removing similarities between Palworld and Pokemon.
Palworld developer Pocketpair seems to be making changes to its hit survival game in an effort to tone down similarities with the Pokemon franchise. The game recently released an update that removed the ability for players to summon creatures from Pal Spheres after they were thrown, in the same way one would throw a Pokeball to summon a Pokemon.
Palworld is also getting a hefty content update later this month, adding an all-new island for players to explore.
Palworld removes Pal Sphere throwing mechanic following lawsuit
Earlier this year, Nintendo confirmed that it was suing Palworld for 10 million yen following its investigation into the game’s similarities with the Pokemon franchise. Nintendo argued that Palworld had infringed upon three specific patents filed by itself and The Pokemon Company, one of which had to do with the in-game mechanic of throwing Pokeballs to capture and summon Pokemon.
This month, Palworld developer Pocketpair appears to have addressed that issue – if only partly. In the game’s v0.3.11 patchnotes, it was confirmed that players would no longer be able to summon their captured Pals by aiming and throwing a Pal Sphere at a specific spot. Now, Pals will be summoned immediately next to players when a Pal Sphere is held out.
It’s unclear if this change is enough to assuage Nintendo and The Pokemon Company’s concerns, which seemingly encompass much more than a simple Pokeball throwing mechanic, but it’s a start. On its part, Pocketpair has not confirmed that this change has anything to do with the lawsuit it’s currently battling. The update does arrive with suspicious timing however, and is otherwise devoid of new content.
Palworld itself is continuing to thrive, despite its developer’s legal troubles. The game has announced a massive content update coming later this month, adding an all-new island for players to discover filled with new Pals and biomes. Additionally, Palworld is getting a crossover with the popular 2D survival game Terraria next year, though the contents of this crossover are currently unknown.
