A Pocketpair developer has spoken out after some Pokémon fans questioned the timing of the company’s Palworld: Palfarm announcement, which came just one week after Nintendo unveiled Pokémon Pokopia.
The Japanese studio, Pocketpair, revealed their cozy farming simulation spinoff, Palworld: Palfarm, for PC just a week after Nintendo announced its own cozy farming sim spinoff, Pokémon Pokopia, for the upcoming Switch 2 during a Nintendo Direct showcase.
Pocketpair states that in Palworld: Palfarm, players will collaborate with their Pals to transform fields into thriving farms, either solo or with friends in online multiplayer. Players can assign tasks like planting seeds, tending to crops, and gathering harvests. They can also befriend local characters and uncover unexpected story paths. However, the game warns that ‘coziness can turn chaotic’ with wild Pals attempting to pilfer fresh produce.
Meanwhile, Pokémon Pokopia, set to release on Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026, is described as a life simulation game where players can craft their ideal Pokémon paradise. The protagonist is Ditto, who has taken on a human form. As Ditto, players can explore the world and learn moves from befriended Pokémon—like Bulbasaur’s Leafage for growth or Squirtle’s Water Gun for revival—to expand their abilities and create an inviting environment for various Pokémon. Nintendo explained that players can gather resources, build furniture, cultivate vegetables, and construct homes for Pokémon, allowing for a relaxed, slow-paced life with their Pokémon, built from the ground up. Over time, players can develop their own town and invite others to visit. Pokémon Pokopia will also feature a real-world day-night cycle, dynamic weather, and unique in-game locations.
The close timing of Palworld: Palfarm’s announcement sparked immediate questions among some fans, despite game development and reveals often being planned years in advance. One redditor remarked, “The timing of this just after the Pokémon Pokopia announcement. They got balls, I respect that.” Another speculated that Pocketpair might have rushed the announcement to preempt accusations of ‘copying’ their farm-sim concept after Pokopia’s reveal. Some users suggested the announcement was a deliberate jab at Nintendo, questioning if such a similar game could be a mere coincidence or an uninspired attempt to outdo a competitor.
In response to the online chatter, John “Bucky” Buckley, Pocketpair’s communications director and publishing manager—who has become a public face for the company—took to social media, declaring that “the tinfoil hats are out in force.”
Bucky noted that while some “silliness and grumpy people” were anticipated with Palfarm’s announcement, he was “surprised how many people think we’re wizard-level developers able to make a game in one week.” He humorously added, “The tinfoil hats are out in force😇”
He then quipped about the “poetic irony,” observing that the same people criticizing Pocketpair were also believing they could conjure up an entire game in a week. “Schrödinger’s Pocketpair I guess. We are both a ‘slop company’ and capable of making entire games in one week it seems🤷♂️”
This comment refers to the earlier accusations of copying that plagued Palworld after its massive launch in early 2024. Fans often labeled it ‘Pokémon with guns’ due to perceived similarities in mechanics. This led to Nintendo and The Pokémon Company launching an ongoing patent lawsuit against Pocketpair.
Just last week, Pocketpair confirmed they are intensely focused on preparing Palworld to exit early access and officially launch its 1.0 update in 2026. This significant update will mark the game’s official release next year.
Concurrently, Nintendo has been actively securing patents—some of which IP lawyers have suggested should not have been granted—as it builds its legal case against Pocketpair, a studio committed to defending itself in court.
The lawsuit centers on three patents granted by the Japan Patent Office: two pertaining to monster capture and release, and one concerning character riding. These patents were filed in 2024, after Palworld’s release, but are derived from earlier Nintendo patents from 2021. It appears Nintendo filed specific divisional patents to counter Palworld’s alleged infringement once the game gained popularity.
Nintendo’s lawyers trying to figure out if this breaches a future patent they’re working on pic.twitter.com/gRHF6UZj9x
— Adam Vjestica (@ItsMrProducts) September 23, 2025
Since then, Pocketpair has modified some of Palworld’s contested mechanics. A November 2024 patch removed the summoning of Pals by throwing Pokéball-like Pal Spheres; now Pals simply appear beside the player. In May of this year, another update altered gliding, replacing direct grabbing onto Glider Pals with the use of Pal-buffed Glider equipment. Then, in July, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company reworded one of the patents involved in the case.
During GDC in March, IGN spoke with Bucky following his presentation, ‘Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop.’ In his talk and subsequent conversation, Buckley candidly discussed Palworld’s challenges, including allegations of using generative AI (which Pocketpair has largely disproven) and purportedly stealing Pokémon models for its Pals. He also shared that Nintendo’s patent infringement lawsuit against the studio “came as a shock” and was “something that no one even considered.”