Palworldofficially launched on the PS5 yesterday (Sept 24) and is now available everywhere except Japan. The hit indie title by Pocketpairreceived a surprise PS5 launchduring yesterday’s Sony State of Play, after being available on Xbox and PC since January 2024.
The creature collector is available across 68 countries worldwide, but its release in Japan has been delayed indefinitely, likely due to legal troubles that Pocketpair is currently experiencing with The Pokémon Company.Palworld’s official X account revealed the news (viaThe Verge), announcing thatthe game isn’t releasing on the PS5 in Japan just yet.
An English translation of the post from Japanese reads: “In Japan, the release date has not yet been decided.” The post goes on to say that the team is working to get the game to Japanese audiences on the new console “as soon as possible” and that they hope its fans are willing to wait a bit longer for it. The delay in Japan is likely due to the legal troubles looming overPalworldand its developers. Just last week,Pocketpair wassued byPokémonand Nintendofor patent infringement,putting the game’s future at risk.
Palworld May Never Release On PS5 In Japan
The Legal Battle May Prevent It
Palworldhas beencompared toPokémonsince day one. However, thePokémonCompany has been surprisingly quiet on the topic until recently. Last week, both thePokémonCompany and Nintendo filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair, although it’sunclear which designs are being targeted at this time.
Pokémon’s New Rival Has All The Ingredients For An Anime That Could Finally Compete With The World’s Biggest Franchise
Sony and its subsidiary Aniplex look intent on turning Palworld into a franchise. While it may be easy to write off, an anime could stand on its own.
The legal battle didn’t preventPalworldfrom getting released on the PS5, which is a move that surprised everyone. However, the lawsuit is most likely the reason behind the launch being delayed in Japan. Japanese copyright legal battles typically take 12–18 months to resolve. This means that even if Pocketpair emerges victorious from the legal proceedings,the game might not appear on Japanese PS5 consoles for at least another year.
Palworld Lawsuit Got A Very Different Response In Japan
Western Fans Side With Pocketpair, While Japan Sides With The Pokémon Company
Despite the outpouring of support from WesternPalworldfans,news of the lawsuit and delay were met with a very different response in Japan.The Japanese community has largely sided with Nintendo andPokémon,with one article onToyo Keizaieven titled, roughly translated, “Finally, Something Is Happening!”
Between the legal battles and the mixed response from the Japanese community,Palworldmay never be released on the PS5 in the country. At the very least, Japanese fans of the game will probably have to wait months, or even years, before they’re able to play the title on the PlayStation 5.
