The Nintendo & Palworld drama continues today, as the President of the former was asked about it in a recent Q&A. Nintendo already published a statement last month on the “protection and nurturing of the Pokemon franchise and its world”. However, no legal action as of yet has taken place, and the developers assured they passed all legal checks to get this game released. However, people still want to know if Nintendo intends to take any action against a game that features creatures that resemble Pokemon.

How Does Nintendo Feel About Palworld?

In a recent earnings Q&A, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa echoed his company's statements, saying Nintendo will “take appropriate action against those that infringe our intellectual property (IP) rights.” The brief answer does not directly address Palworld, a game close to reaching 20 million total players.

However, this Furukawa did not mention Palworld itself. While Nintendo did remove the Palworld mod which added actual Pokemon, they have yet to say anything officially about the game itself. Furthermore, developer Pocketpair Inc. assured they passed all legal checks when creating Palworld. Although some Pals resemble Pokemon, there's not enough legal ground for an outright lawsuit… or perhaps not.

Will Nintendo Try To Get Rid of Palworld?

We don't believe Nintendo will try and get rid of Palworld. Furthermore, Legal action against the developer may be difficult. Even if legal action was taken, it doesn't mean the game will outright go away.

Outside of similar looking creatures, Palworld isn't doing anything outright criminal on the surface. Just because it shares similar gameplay elements doesn't mean the game is in any legal danger. For example, Super Smash Bros., another popular Nintendo series, has many clones, like Nickelodeon All-Stars Brawl. Since the series' early days dating back to even Melee, people made have made flash games emulating Smash Bros' gameplay.

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However, Palworld does come with one caveat, and that is in its Pal design. While some Pals look original, others carry too similar of a resemblance to pass up. For example, Dinossom looks like Meganium but with a giant flower on its head. Anubis, one of the best Pals in the game, resembles popular Pokemon Lucario.

Nevertheless, Palworld offers tons of other gameplay mechanics which differentiate it. For one, the player also engages in combat, not just the creature. Secondly, Palworld borrows just as many elements as in other games like Minecraft, and even Breath of The Wild. So there would need to be substantial evidence that Palworld directly steals from Nintendo, Game Freak, or any of their respective properties.

Overall, if Nintendo does seek legal action, then they're likely just preparing while keeping quiet. That said, going forward, we feel the company won't take any action. Palworld, announced long ago, allowed Nintendo plenty of time to take action much earlier. Either they didn't think much of it at the time, or they simply don't care. If Palworld doesn't mess with Pokemon's sales figures, both sides have nothing to worry about.

However, if Palworld is discovered to be stealing assets, the consequences would be tremendous. It could mean either a major payout, or the complete cancellation of the title. Nevertheless, that feel like a worst-case scenario right now. We hope to see the game live out and fully launch.

Lastly, check out some of our other Palworld guides. Furthermore, the developer released new patch notes today to improve stability. Additionally, players found a new way to defeat bosses instantly, requiring only a staircase.

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