Palworld forced to make major changes following Nintendo lawsuit; fans defend developers, say 'Don¡¯t blame the devs'

In the wake of Palworld's massive success last year, Nintendo, in no time, sued the developers, Pocket Pair, due to the game's Pok¨¦mon inspirations. However, the proceedings are still going on, and because of this, the company has had to make further adjustments to Palworld.

The developers had to make the changes amid the increasing discussions around Palworld's character design and Pok¨¦mon. Nintendo chose to sue the studio PocketPair based on patents it owns for particular game mechanics instead.

While the lawsuit is still in progress, PocketPair has announced upcoming changes to the game. In a statement issued by the company, which said, "On November 30, 2024, we released Patch v0.3.11 for Palworld. This update removed the feature that allowed players to summon Pals by throwing Pal Spheres, replacing it with a static summon next to the player. The patch also introduced several other gameplay adjustments."

Major changes made by Palworld

As mentioned in the statement, they released Patch v0.3.11 for Palworld, and this update removed the feature that allowed players to summon Pals by throwing Pal Spheres and replaced it with a static summon next to the player.

Palworld Gets Ruined By Nintendo As Pocketpair Is Forced To Change Their Game Due To Lawsuits | Hypnocast https://t.co/KXBF7DWbw2

¡ª Hypnotic (@RealHypnotic1) May 9, 2025

Moreover, the patch also includes other game changes along with the other additions. They went on to mention that they regret to inform the players that with the implementation of Patch v0.5.5, we must make yet another compromise.

"From this patch onward, gliding will be performed using a glider rather than with Pals. Pals in the player's team will still provide passive buffs to gliding, but players will now need to have a glider in their inventory in order to glide," the statement added.

Credit: X

Netizens react to the changes made to Palworld

Amid this, there could be an argument to make that the designs of the 'Pals' are inspired by Pok¨¦mon; Nintendo was far from the first company to use mounts if you want to fly in the game, and so many of these changes look simply unnecessary.

Palworld confirms that changes to the game are being forced by Nintendo. Will no longer be able to glide with Pals. Details below. pic.twitter.com/nJ8y2qvoVv

¡ª Niche Gamer (@nichegamer) May 8, 2025

Fans react to the changes. One said, "Nintendo forcing Palworld to change mechanics in the game, such as gliding with pals and throwing a ball to summon a creature, etc., is so utterly ridiculous, they should be ashamed and shunned. Such things are too generic to be awarded "patents"

Nintendo forcing Palworld to change mechanics in the game, such as gliding with pals and throwing a ball to summon a creature etc is so utterly ridiculous, they should me ashamed and shunned.
Such things are too generic to be awarded "patents"

¡ª Owlmighty (@Owlmighty) May 9, 2025

"Hopefully, and if so, Palworld shouldn¡¯t have to change a thing"

"Guys nintendo is directly responsible for this glider change. do not bash the devs. ?"

"Palworld Gets Ruined By Nintendo As Pocketpair Is Forced To Change Their Game Due To Lawsuits | Hypnocast"