A week after Palworld developer Pocketpair removed the ability for players to glide using Pals in response to Nintendo’s ongoing lawsuit, a modder has restored the feature on PC. That’s as Pocketpair confirms Palworld’s Terraria collaboration will launch this “summer”.
Pocketpair confirmed it had removed Pal-based gliding from Palworld earlier this month, saying it had been forced to make “yet another compromise” due to Nintendo’s ongoing patent infringement claim. Nintendo launched legal action against the studio last September, saying it was seeking “an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages on the grounds that Palworld… infringes multiple patent rights”.
Several patents – which Nintendo and The Pokémon Company seemingly filed onto pre-existing “parent” patents the release of Palworld – lie at the heart of the case, all relating to specific gameplay mechanics. These include the ability to capture digital creatures by throwing a catching item and the ability to subsequently ride on them.
First signs Pocketpair might be forced to capitulate to Nintendo arrived last December, when the developer axed the ability to catch Pals by throwing Pokéball-style Pal Spheres in a small update. Then, the ability to glide using Pals was removed earlier this month, with the studio saying the changes – which instead added gliders as a useable inventory item – were “necessary in order to prevent further disruptions” to development.