Palworld Officially launched on the PS5 yesterday (September 24) and is now available everywhere except Japan. The hit indie title by Pocketpair received a surprise PS5 launch during yesterday’s Sony State of Play, after being available on Xbox and PC since January 2024.
The creature collector is available in 68 countries worldwide, but its release in Japan has been delayed indefinitely, likely due to legal troubles that Pocketpair is currently experiencing with the Pokemon Company. PalworldThe official X account revealed the news (via The verge), announcing that The game is not yet releasing on the PS5 in Japan.
An English translation of the post from Japanese reads: “In Japan, the release date has not yet been decided.“The post says the team is working to get the game to Japanese audiences on the new console.”As soon as possibleAnd that they hope that her fans are ready to wait a little longer for him. The delay in Japan is likely due to the legal troubles Palworld and its developers. just last week, Pocketpair was greeted by Pokemon and Nintendo for patent infringement, Put the future of the game at risk.
Palworld may never be released on PS5 in Japan
The legal battle could prevent it
Palworld has been compared to Pokemon Since day one. However, these Pokemon The company has been surprisingly quiet on the subject until recently. Last week, both of these Pokemon Company and Nintendo filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair, although it is Unclear which designs are being targeted at this time.
Related
The legal battle did not prevent Palworld of getting free on the PS5, which is a move that surprised everyone. However, the process is most likely the reason behind the launch being delayed in Japan. Japanese copyright legal battles typically take 12 to 18 months to resolve. This means that even if Pocketpair emerges victorious from the legal proceedings, The game may not appear on Japanese PS5 consoles for at least another year.
Palworld trial has a very different response in Japan
Western fans sided with PocketPair, while Japan sided with The Pokemon Company
Despite the outpouring of support from the West Palworld fans, News of the trial and delay were met with a very different response in Japan. The Japanese community has largely sided with Nintendo and pokemon, With one article on Toyo Keizai Even titled, roughly translated, “Finally, something happens!“
Amid the legal battles and the mixed response from the Japanese community, Palworld May 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 can play the title on the PlayStation 5.
Source: X, The verge, Toyo Keizai