At the moment, Palworld obtained a brand new patch. Replace v0.5.5 does not add any new options, Buddies, or environments. It does not repair any bugs or supply any optimization enhancements. As a substitute, the accompanying Steam information put up from developer Pocketpair solely consists of one patch observe:
Mechanics Adjustment: The mechanics for gliding with a Pal have been modified. Till now, you would use sure Buddies as a glider, nevertheless from this patch you’ll solely have the ability to glide through the use of a glider. Glider Buddies will now present a brand new passive accomplice talent impact whereas gliding, however the participant should have a glider outfitted to really glide.
Pocketpair provided extra context for the replace in a put up on X, explaining that the adjustment to Pal gliding was “one other compromise” made in response to Nintendo’s ongoing lawsuit, which alleges that Pocketpair infringed on a collection of patents defending Pokémon recreation mechanics.
In its tweet, Pocketpair confirmed that an earlier November 2024 replace to Palworld, which made it so Buddies had been summoned beside the participant as an alternative of launched from Poké Ball-esque spheres, had been carried out to handle the lawsuit allegations.
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“As many have speculated, these modifications had been certainly a results of the continuing litigation. Everybody right here at Pocketpair was disenchanted that this adjustment needed to be made, and we totally perceive that many gamers really feel the identical frustration,” Pocketpair stated. “Sadly, as the choice would have led to an excellent better deterioration of the gameplay expertise for gamers, it was decided that this modification was essential.”
[Regarding the lawsuit, changes to Palworld and the future]We wish to specific our honest gratitude and appreciation for the continued help of our followers over the previous few months. We apologize for not with the ability to share as a lot data as we wish, however we belief…Might 8, 2025
Likewise, Pocketpair stated that in the present day’s patch was “essential in an effort to forestall additional disruptions to the event of Palworld.”
Pocketpair does not specify what that “better deterioration of the gameplay expertise” may need been, however contemplating Nintendo’s historical past of pursuing a salted-earth authorized technique, I think it was much less a matter of sustaining enjoyable gameplay and extra concerning the recreation’s continued existence.
The patents asserted in Nintendo’s lawsuit, JP7545191, JP7493117, and JP7528390, grant protections on a collection of mechanics associated to catching and using Pokémon as carried out in 2022’s Pokémon Legends: Arceus. By updating Palworld to distance its mechanics from these described in Nintendo’s asserted patents, Pocketpair is following a prediction made by videogame IP lawyer Kirk Sigmon, who spoke to PC Gamer in September 2024 concerning the lawsuit’s potential outcomes.
The lawsuit, Sigmon stated, presents dangers for each side. For Nintendo, the danger could be dropping these patents totally. Personally talking, my criticisms of Palworld are fairly well-documented, and even I feel the concept that Nintendo can declare a patent on using a creature round is each absurd and blatantly noncompetitive. If a choose agreed, they’d have grounds to revoke these protections. However IP lawsuits are notoriously costly, and each week the lawsuit continues is one through which Pocketpair is bleeding authorized charges—and I personally would not need to attempt to outlast Nintendo’s authorized price range.
Because of this, Sigmon’s prediction in September was that neither social gathering would need to extend the lawsuit. “You get them in a room, you go, ‘Look, neither of us need to do that. What would you like accomplished?’ It could possibly be one thing so simple as a licensing settlement,” Sigmon stated. “You possibly can say, ‘We will comply with some modifications within the recreation,’ and add some circumstances. Normally, each events earlier than they even go into these conferences have a common concept of the sphere of issues they’re prepared to comply with.”
