Summary
- Pocketpair released OverDungeon on the Nintendo eShop in a surprise move.
- OverDungeon is a genre-blending action card game with tower defense mechanics.
- Despite an ongoing lawsuit, Pocketpair celebrated OverDungeon's launch with a 50% off sale.
In a surprising move, Palworld developer Pocketpair has launched its 2019 title, OverDungeon, on the Nintendo eShop. This comes amidst an ongoing lawsuit involving Pocketpair, as they have been under scrutiny for months following accusations of patent infringement by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company over their popular monster-taming game, Palworld.
In September 2024, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company filed a lawsuit against Pocketpair, alleging that Palworld's Pal Spheres, which function similarly to Pokeballs, infringed on some of Pokemon's creature-capturing system patents. This lawsuit sparked significant controversy within the gaming community. Pocketpair responded by calling the situation "unfortunate" and committed to following the investigation procedures. Despite the legal battle, Palworld received a major update in December, which led to a surge in concurrent Steam players. Now, in another bold move, Pocketpair has released a new game on the Nintendo eShop.
On January 9, Pocketpair unexpectedly released OverDungeon for Nintendo Switch consoles. Initially launched only on Steam in 2019, OverDungeon is described on the Nintendo eShop as an action card game that incorporates tower defense and roguelike mechanics. This marks Pocketpair's first game for the Switch, and the company did not provide any prior announcements about the launch. To celebrate its debut on the Nintendo Switch, Pocketpair has offered OverDungeon at a 50% discount until January 24. While Palworld is available on PS5 and Xbox, the decision to launch OverDungeon on the Nintendo eShop has led some social media users to speculate that it might be a strategic response to Nintendo's lawsuit.
Pocketpair Launches Its First Nintendo Switch Game Amid Lawsuit
While Palworld is Pocketpair's most well-known game, it's not the first to draw comparisons to Nintendo titles. In 2020, Pocketpair released Craftopia, an RPG that bore a striking resemblance to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Craftopia continues to receive updates on Steam, with the latest in December. Meanwhile, Pocketpair has been actively promoting Palworld even after the lawsuit, including announcing a collaboration with Terraria. The first phase of this crossover introduced a new Pal named Meowmeow, with more Terraria-related content planned for 2025.
Since the lawsuit was made public, there has been little additional information shared by the involved parties. Some patent experts suggest that Nintendo's lawsuit against Palworld could drag on for years if no settlement is reached. In addition to the Terraria collaboration, Pocketpair has hinted at further plans for Palworld in 2025, including potential ports for Mac and mobile devices.
