Palworld made a surprise appearance on the PS5 during Nintendo’s ongoing legal battle. Now that Pocketpair is settled legally, Sony gamers may get into the monster-taming chaos.
The Pokémon Company and Nintendo are not pleased with Pocketpair’s Palworld. On September 18, 2024, they filed a lawsuit in Tokyo District Court alleging patent infringement against the independent developer.
Amid the legal drama, Palworld will now be accessible on PlayStation, according to today’s Sony State of Play announcement. Although there were speculations that it would be arriving at the console, it was unexpected that it would be shadow-dropped.
Palworld was only available on the Xbox and Microsoft stores, and it could be downloaded via Steam or the Xbox store. However, you can now play Monster Catcher on the PlayStation 5 eight months after it was released on Pocketpair.
Sony did clarify that the game would only be accessible on the PlayStation 5 starting on September 25, leaving PS4 gamers behind, following a brief video.
However, Nintendo’s ongoing legal battle with Palworld maker Pocketpair undoubtedly contributed to some of the surprise surrounding this announcement. The lawsuit alleges that some features of Palworld, including the “throwing an item to catch a monster” mechanic, violate Nintendo’s patents.
What does this portend for Palworld’s future as this legal storm gets stronger? Even in the face of legal obstacles, Pocketpair is growing—at least for the time being. The game might survive with Sony’s support, but a Nintendo victory might be disastrous for this Tokyo-based business.
Although the timing seems strange, Sony is being clever by taking advantage of the game’s enormous popularity—10 million copies have been sold since January 2024. Additionally, in a June X post, Pocketpair’s Global Community Manager made a hint about Palworld’s PlayStation debut.
