Look, we all know Palworld has constantly been referred to as “Pokemon with guns” since its inception. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t made that direct comparison at some point or another. But as Nintendo and the Pokemon Company continue to push their lawsuit further, Palworld has had to make some genuinely baffling design choices. Such as the removal of using Pals as gliders, because, apparently, Nintendo owns a patent for that? That just seems… shallow, more than anything.
The First ‘Palworld’ Change Was the Spheres. Now, We Can’t Glide with Pals Anymore. This just Seems Silly, honestly.
Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) on May 8, 2025, the official Palworld account detailed further changes coming to the survival/crafting experience. One of the biggest changes, coming in Patch v0.5.5, is the ability to use your Pals to glide. You’ll always need to have a Glider in your inventory if you’re hoping to coast down to land. While it is unclear in the post, this doesn’t seem to affect the ability to fly on Pals, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see if that will be coming next in Palworld.
In a Direct Quote from Pocketpair Developers:
“Furthermore, we regret to inform our players that with the implementation of Patch v0.5.5, we must make yet another compromise. From this patch onward, gliding will [occur by using] a glider rather than with Pals. Pals in the player’s team will still provide passive buffs to gliding, but players will now need to have a glider in their inventory in order to glide.”
More of a cosmetic Palworld change than anything fundamentally game-breaking, it’s still sad to see that features such as having your Pal come out of a sphere, and now the ability to glide with them, have been removed. All due to “alleged patent infringement.” Look, I can see how some of the Pals may look like different Pokémon. But the ability to glide with a creature? That seems like a reach.
There are plenty of games that have creatures that double as gliders. Do we need to worry about them being an “infringement” of patents next? I’m not the biggest fan of seeing a multi-billion-dollar company pushing around an indie team like this. But I’m proud of Palworld and Pocketpair for standing their ground and continuing to fight against this. And for still having the gumption to work on a dating sim.
The post “We Must Make Yet Another Compromise” – The ‘Palworld’/‘Pokemon’ Legal Battle Gets More Confusing, as Gliding Gets Targeted appeared first on VICE.
