Nintendo and its partner The Pokemon Company have filed a legal case against the makers of the hit survival adventure game Palworld.
The companies filed the case with the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday, seeking an injunction and compensation for damages on the grounds that the game infringes multiple patent rights.
The multiplayer open-world game, released by Tokyo-based Pocketpair Inc, became a breakout hit with more than 25 million players within a month of its release in mid-January.
In the game – dubbed Pokemon with guns – players can use weapons to capture and train cute creatures known as “pals”.
In a statement, Nintendo said it “will continue to take necessary actions against any infringement of its intellectual property rights including the Nintendo brand itself, to protect the intellectual properties it has worked hard to establish over the years”.
The Pokemon Company said in January it would investigate and take action over any infringement of intellectual property rights.
Pocketpair said in a statement it was “unaware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon, and we have not been notified of such details”.
The firm added: “It is truly unfortunate that we will be forced to allocate significant time to matters unrelated to game development due to this lawsuit.
“However, we will do our utmost for our fans, and to ensure that indie game developers are not hindered or discouraged from pursuing their creative ideas.”
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Pocketpair in July announced the establishment of a joint venture company, Palworld Entertainment Inc, in collaboration with Sony Music Entertainment and Aniplex Inc to promote the licensing business of Palworld globally.