Nintendo's aggressive patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair over the hit survival game Palworld is heading toward a critical court hearing on October 1st, but industry analysts are already calling the case a massive dud for the Mario maker.
On Kinda Funny Games Daily, host Tim Gettys broke down the legal landscape, pointing out that while "it was no secret from the very beginning that Palworld was a Pokemon clone," proving copyright or patent infringement in a court of law is a much higher bar.
Gettys highlighted a report from Games Fray suggesting that Nintendo currently has "zero chance of prevailing" in the lawsuit's current form. Because Pocketpair successfully amended the game to eliminate patent exposure, the plaintiffs are left with virtually no path to secure an injunction.
The studio is already looking well beyond the courtroom. On June 13, 2026, Pocketpair's head of publishing and communications, John, went on the offensive by criticizing legacy publishers' restrictive terms, signaling that the indie breakout has no intention of backing down from the industry establishment.