In a bold move, Palworld modders are stepping up to reinstate gameplay mechanics that developer Pocketpair was compelled to alter due to legal pressures from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. This action comes in the wake of Pocketpair's acknowledgment that recent updates to Palworld were indeed influenced by the ongoing patent lawsuit.
Palworld, which burst onto the scene in early 2024 with a $30 price tag on Steam and immediate availability on Game Pass for Xbox and PC, shattered records for both sales and concurrent players. The game's overwhelming success led Pocketpair's CEO Takuro Mizobe to admit that the studio was ill-prepared for the influx of profits. Capitalizing on this momentum, Pocketpair swiftly inked a deal with Sony to establish Palworld Entertainment, aimed at expanding the franchise's reach. This expansion included a launch on the PS5.
Following its launch, Palworld drew comparisons to Pokémon, with some accusing Pocketpair of copying Pokémon designs. Instead of pursuing a copyright lawsuit, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company opted for a patent route, seeking damages of 5 million yen each and an injunction to halt Palworld's distribution.
In November, Pocketpair confirmed it was embroiled in a lawsuit over three Japan-based patents related to capturing Pokémon in a virtual field. Palworld initially featured a similar mechanic, where players could throw a Pal Sphere at monsters to capture them, akin to the system in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Six months later, Pocketpair admitted that the changes made in Patch v0.3.11 in November 2024 were a direct result of the lawsuit. This patch eliminated the ability to summon Pals by throwing Pal Spheres, replacing it with a static summon mechanism, and altered several other gameplay elements. Pocketpair justified these modifications, stating that without them, the gameplay experience would have deteriorated further.
More recently, Patch v0.5.5 introduced changes to the gliding mechanic, shifting it from using Pals to requiring a glider in the player's inventory, although Pals still offer passive gliding buffs. Pocketpair described these adjustments as "compromises" made to avoid a potential injunction that could jeopardize Palworld's development and sales.
In a swift response, modders have restored the original gliding mechanic with Primarinabee’s Glider Restoration mod, available on Nexus Mods. This mod, released on May 10 and downloaded hundreds of times, effectively undoes the changes from Patch v0.5.5, allowing players to glide with their Pals once more. The mod description cheekily states, “Palworld Patch 0.5.5? What? That didn't happen!” It emphasizes that while players still need a glider, the mod brings back the essence of gliding with Pals.
Another mod exists that 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 current viewpoint.
The longevity of the Glider Restoration mod remains uncertain as the lawsuit continues. Meanwhile, at the Game Developers Conference in March, IGN engaged in an in-depth discussion with John "Bucky" Buckley, Pocketpair's communications director and publishing manager. Buckley's presentation, "Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop," delved into the challenges faced by Palworld, including unfounded accusations of using generative AI and copying Pokémon models, both of which have been debunked. He also touched upon the unexpected nature of Nintendo's patent lawsuit, describing it as a "shock" to the studio.
