Palworld’s PS5 release still unconfirmed in Japan 

While Palworld is now playable in most parts of the world on PlayStation 5, the game has yet to be released in Japan. According to the official Palworld Japan X account, the release date for the PlayStation 5 version in the country is yet to be decided, which could be related to Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s recent lawsuit against Pocketpair regarding Palworld’s alleged patent infringement. 

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company announced their lawsuit against Palworld developer and publisher Pocketpair on September 19, 2024, via a news release. While the companies wouldn’t get into specifics, they did mention that Palworld “infringes multiple patents.” The lawsuit seeks an injunction against the defendants (Pocketpair) and compensation for damages. 

Pocketpair has since responded to the lawsuit, claiming they “will begin appropriate legal proceedings and investigations into the claims of patent infringement.” Since the lawsuit came so close to Palword’s surprise PlayStation 5 worldwide launch on September 24, 2024, Pocketpair might have had to compromise by delaying the game in Japan. Seeing as Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, and Pocketpair are based in the country and each has its avid local followers, this seems like a logical decision. 

As Pocketpair has mentioned that the lawsuit has forced them allocate significant time and resources to matters unrelated to game development, only time will tell when or if the developer and publisher decides to release the PlayStation 5 version of Palworld in Japan. In the meantime, people in Japan can still play Palworld on PC via Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.