# Nintendo’s Pokemon Will Never Be The Same… (Palworld Won)

Canonical watch page: https://twitch-nude.com/watch/nintendo-s-pokemon-will-never-be-the-same-palworld-won-v450726

Language: en

Published: 2026-07-21T22:05:15+00:00

Source creator: Mannix

Duration: 619 seconds

## Description

Palworld's full 1.0 launch on July 10, 2026 marked a major turning point for the game, arriving on PC and PlayStation 5 alongside a new region, additional Pals, new bosses, dungeons, and upgraded combat and building systems. The game was initially dismissed by many as "Pokémon with guns" when it launched in early access back in January 2024, but players quickly found it offered much more, from an expansive open world to base-building and creature mounting mechanics inspired as much by Minecraft and Ark: Survival Evolved as by Pokémon. Since then, the numbers have only grown: Palworld has now surpassed 40 million players, a milestone that outpaces recent Pokémon mainline releases in raw reach, even if direct sales comparisons are murkier given the game's availability through Xbox Game Pass. Alongside the 1.0 launch, Pocketpair also appears to have quietly redesigned some of its more Pokémon-adjacent creature models to look more visually distinct, a move some fans read as a response to years of plagiarism accusations. 


Nintendo's reaction has largely played out through the courts rather than public statements, and the results have been mixed. A related Nintendo patent covering touchscreen-based monster-catching mechanics was rejected for a second time by the Japan Patent Office, with examiners citing a 2013 Pokémon fan game as prior art undermining Nintendo's claim, and Pocketpair has separately used an old Pokémon-themed Dark Souls 3 mod as evidence against Nintendo's existing patents in the ongoing lawsuit. That lawsuit is still active, and it's already visibly shaped the game itself: features like gliding with Pals and the classic "throw a ball to release a creature" mechanic have reportedly been altered or removed in the current version, seemingly to sidestep Nintendo's patent claims. Meanwhile, the rivalry shows no sign of cooling in the court of public opinion either, as Palworld's newest legendary creature, Panthalus, has already drawn comparisons to Pokémon's Kyogre, reigniting the "copycat" debate among fans just a week after the 1.0 update went live.

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