Palworld escapes indefinite delay, launches on PS5 in Japan today despite the survival game's ongoing legal battle with Nintendo

Little over a week after shadow dropping in 68 countries, Palworld has landed on PS5 in Japan, putting a swift end to an indefinite delay.

Palworld launched on PS5 worldwide following last week's PlayStation State of Play, but at the time, Pocketpair told fans on social media that the release date in Japan had "not yet been decided." It apologized for the wait but promised to do its best to release the game "as soon as possible," and today, that's just what it's done. 

Once again saying sorry for keeping fans waiting, the devs confirm (translated by Google and DeepL) that the PS5 version will continue to get "large-scale updates" going forward, too. With no further explanation of the delay given, the situation remains somewhat perplexing since Palworld was already out in Japan on both PC and Xbox consoles, but it's worth pointing out that the PS5 launch arrived right on the back of Nintendo and The Pokemon Company filing a patent infringement lawsuit against the developer in Japan. 

お待たせしました！ついに本日、PS5版『Palworld / パルワールド』が遊べるようになりました。発売が遅れてしまい、大変申し訳ございませんでした。みなさまにより楽しんでいただけますよう、PS5版でも魅力的かつ大規模なアップデートを今後も続けてまいります。…October 4, 2024

It's still not been publicly announced what patents Pocketpair has allegedly infringed upon, but the lawsuit is still very much ongoing. It was only announced last month, after all, and one IP expert has predicted that it's more likely to last for five years than wrap up in the first one. Even so, between the PS5 release and the announcement just this week that PUBG's studio is set to bring the Palworld IP to mobile, Pocketpair doesn't seem to be slowing down with its survival hit. 

Nintendo's Pokeball patent could be at the heart of its Palworld lawsuit, and judging by a 29-year-old precedent it could change monster-collecting RPGs for decades.

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