Back when Nintendo and The Pokémon Company first launched their aggressive legal crusade against Palworld creator Pocketpair, it felt like quite the David vs Goliath story. Nintendo is historically incredibly successful in the courtroom, and what chance did an indie hit like Palworld have to deflect the patent infringement claims?
Fast forward to today, as Palworld 1.0 is about to launch on July 10, a report from patent litigation experts at GamesFray reveals that the stakes in Nintendo's case have practically shrunk to nothing ahead of the Tokyo District Court hearing on October 1, 2026. At this point, Nintendo has little to no chance of halting Palworld in its tracks, and even if they win any of the remaining technical arguments, the maximum payout is capped at a measly $30k (equivalent to JPY 5 million). This chump change is hardly a victory for Nintendo.
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