Palworld will remove more content that may be too similar to Pokémon. In a recent statement, the developers revealed that starting with patch v0.5.5, gliding will be performed using a glider rather than with Pals.
While no specific reasoning was given for the change (does Nintendo really own the concept of flying mounts?), it's clear it has something to do with the ongoing legal battle between Palworld developers Pocketpair and Nintendo.
This isn't the first major change to gameplay that stemmed from the legal standoff between both companies. Back when patch v0.3.11 dropped, Pocketpair changed the way players summoned their Pals, going from characters throwing spherical containers known as Pal Spheres to a more mundane summon animation. That may have been a tad too close for Nintendo's liking, as the iconic Pokéball is a staple of one of the most popular IPs in the world.
click to enlargePocketpair has been dealing with a constant ongoing litigation struggle against Nintendo. The devs were reportedly crushed the first time they heard about it, with Palworld being marred by this constant comparison with Pokémon that has the studio fed up.
Pocketpair has tried to stand up against the constant pushback from Nintendo to continuously. The company plead the case that Palworld isn't copying the concept of capturing and using beasts for different purposes similar to Pokémon, as other titles like Craftopia boast similar mechanics and received no lawsuits.
At the same time as Pocketpair has had to deal with a ton of scrutiny following the constant legal issues, The Pokémon Company has successfully targeted other games, like Pocket Monster Reissue, winning $15 million in compensation as the game is a clear ripoff of the company's recognizable IP.
It will remain to be seen how much more will Palworld and its gameplay be directly affected by the outcome of the lawsuit. As it stands, it's clear Nintendo has the upper hand and it won't rest until every alleged trace of plagiarism is removed from the game.