Nintendo and Pokémon Narrow Palworld Lawsuit to Early Builds

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have narrowed their Palworld lawsuit to older versions only, excluding current and recent builds after Pocketpair’s changes; the dispute now centers on gameplay mechanics rather than character designs, with an injunction unlikely and potential damages around 5 million yen (~$30k). Evidence is scheduled for Oct 1, 2026, with a court decision expected by Nov 9. The developers have floated a Switch 2 version if Palworld is sufficiently beefy, and Nintendo recently had a related patent denial for poke-ball–style capture mechanics on touchscreen devices.