Palworld, a video game mocked as “Pokémon with guns,” became one of the most popular games in the world when it was released in January.

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company filed a lawsuit against "Pokémon with guns" game Palworld this week, officially kicking off a fight that's been looming since January. Now Palworld developer Pocketpair has responded, claiming it has no idea why it's being sued. This actually isn't as absurd as it sounds.

And, to be fair, a lot of people have been waiting for this particular brightly colored cartoon shoe to drop for a while: Palworld was a massive smash hit when it released back in early 2024, selling more than 8 million copies within its first week of release,

Pocketpair recently disclosed that it will not switch Palworld to a free-to-play or live-service model. As Toto alluded to above, it's believed that Pocketpair will soon announce Palworld's PlayStation 5 port. Sony and Pocketpair have already teamed up for a Palworld merchandise deal with an eye towards expanding the franchise beyond games.

Nintendo and its partner The Pokémon Company have filed a legal case against the maker of the hit survival adventure game Palworld over alleged patent infringement.Palworld quickly earned the nickname "Pokémon with guns" when its first trailer was unveiled in 2021.

Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have filed a lawsuit in Tokyo District Court against Japanese video game studio Pocketpair, alleging that its parody shooter game Palworld is violating intellectual property laws.

One analyst reckons that Nintendo's laundry list of patents means it could have sued countless games over the years, but the company is only targeting Palworld over its similarities to Pokemon now because it's inclined to do so.

Nintendo's patent lawsuit against Palworld has been interpreted differently by a range of law and industry experts, with some expecting the ensuing legal battle to run long, some arguing that Nintendo wouldn't make a move unless it was sure it could win in court,