Palworld modders are stepping up to reinstate gameplay mechanics that Pocketpair was compelled to remove due to a patent lawsuit from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company.

Last week, Pocketpair acknowledged that recent game updates were implemented in response to ongoing legal action from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company.

Palworld debuted on Steam for $30 and on Game Pass for Xbox and PC in early 2024, shattering sales and concurrent player records. Pocketpair’s CEO, Takuro Mizobe, noted that the game’s massive launch generated profits the studio struggled to manage. Seizing on this success, Pocketpair partnered with Sony to establish Palworld Entertainment, a new venture focused on expanding the IP, and later released the game on PS5.

Following Palworld’s explosive launch, its creatures, known as Pals, drew comparisons to Pokémon, with some alleging that Pocketpair copied Pokémon designs. Instead of pursuing a copyright claim, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company opted for a patent infringement lawsuit, seeking 5 million yen (approximately $32,846) each, plus damages for late payments, and an injunction to halt Palworld’s release.

In November, Pocketpair disclosed details of the three Japan-based patents at the heart of the lawsuit, which focus on capturing creatures in a virtual environment. Palworld’s original mechanic involved throwing a Pal Sphere to capture monsters in the field, resembling the system in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, a 2022 Nintendo Switch exclusive.

Six months later, Pocketpair released an update confirming that changes in Patch v0.3.11, rolled out in November 2024, stemmed from the legal pressure. The update eliminated the ability to throw Pal Spheres to summon Pals, replacing it with a static summon beside the player, alongside other gameplay tweaks.

Pocketpair explained that without these changes, Palworld faced “an even worse impact on the player experience.”

In last week’s Patch v0.5.5, further adjustments were made, requiring players to use a glider for gliding instead of relying on Pals. While Pals still provide passive gliding buffs, a glider must now be in the player’s inventory.

Pocketpair described these alterations as “necessary compromises” to avoid an injunction that could halt Palworld’s development and sales.

Just a week later, modders restored the original gliding mechanic. As reported by Dexerto, Primarinabee’s Glider Restoration mod, available on Nexus Mods, undoes the changes introduced in Patch v0.5.5.

“No Palworld Patch 0.5.5 here!” the mod’s description declares.

“For those who love soaring with their Pals, this mod cleverly reverses the gliding restrictions,” it adds. “A glider is still required in your inventory, and it’s not flawless, but it effectively restores the pre-patch experience while keeping future updates accessible.”

Released on May 10, Primarinabee’s Glider Restoration mod has already garnered hundreds of downloads.

A mod addressing the throw-to-release Pal mechanic exists, but it falls short of recreating the original experience, summoning Pals at the player’s cursor without the ball-throwing animation.

The longevity of the Glider Restoration mod remains uncertain as the lawsuit continues.

At the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March, IGN held an in-depth discussion with John “Bucky” Buckley, Pocketpair’s communications director and publishing manager.

Following his GDC talk, ‘Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop,’ Buckley candidly addressed Palworld’s challenges, including debunked claims of using generative AI and accusations of copying Pokémon models, which the original accuser later retracted. He also touched on Nintendo’s patent lawsuit, describing it as a “shocking” development that “caught the studio off guard.”