🍪 Nintendo vs Mods, Krafton vs Founders, Tencent vs Sony
Hello there legal fighters, industry brawlers. Today we cover Nintendo’s battle with mods, Krafton’s Subnautica lawsuit pivot, and Tencent’s pushback against Sony’s Horizon claims. The courts feel like boss arenas this week.
⚖️ Nintendo vs. Palworld: Mods Don’t Count?
Nintendo has escalated its lawsuit against Palworld dev Pocketpair, Inc. by arguing that mods shouldn’t qualify as “prior art.”
Pocketpair pointed to mods like Pocket Souls (a Dark Souls 3 Pokémon mod) to show that summoning mechanics predate Nintendo’s recent patent. Nintendo countered: mods “don’t stand on their own” since they require a base game.
PC Gamer notes Japanese courts often side with defendants using prior art. Lawyer Richard Hoeg called Nintendo’s patent “enforceable in so far as it has been granted, but Nintendo likely knows it ‘got away with one’.” Former Pokémon Co. legal chief Don McGowan added the patent “will likely be ignored.”
🦊 Kiki’s Opinion: “Nintendo trying to erase mods from the legal record is absurd. Everyone knows mods are where half the industry’s ideas come from. If this flies, publishers get free rein to borrow but fans don’t.” 🍪 Chip: Arms crossed, cheeks puffed, hovering angrily.
🌊 Krafton vs. Unknown Worlds: Subnautica 2 Dispute Gets Messy
The fired co-founders of Subnautica studio Unknown Worlds say KRAFTON Inc. keeps shifting its story.
Krafton first claimed they pushed for a premature Subnautica 2 Early Access launch. Now the company argues it fired them for backing up work files — a reason that only appeared after their removal.
The trio wrote in their filing: “Krafton’s disorganized retreat raises more questions than answers. To say Krafton’s new theory is a Hail Mary would be an understatement.”
On Sept. 12, the court denied Krafton’s request for a forensic inspection, calling out the shifting rationale.
🦊 Kiki’s Opinion: “Changing your lawsuit mid-battle isn’t strategy, it’s panic. Krafton looks like a player button-mashing, hoping something sticks.” 🍪 Chip: Tilts sideways, one eye twitching like he’s facepalming.
🏹 Tencent vs. Sony: Horizon or Just Tropes?
Sony is suing Tencent’s Light of Motiram, claiming it’s a “slavish clone” of Horizon Zero Dawn. Tencent’s response? These are tropes, not theft.
Its filing states: “At bottom, Sony’s effort is not aimed at fighting off piracy, plagiarism, or any genuine threat to intellectual property. It is an improper attempt to fence off a well-trodden corner of popular culture and declare it Sony’s exclusive domain.”
Tencent even highlighted a Horizon developer documentary where art director Jan-Bart Van Beek admitted similarities to Enslaved: Odyssey to the West.
Sony insists it’s not about single elements but the combination — akin to music copyright cases where familiar notes still form a copy if arranged the same way.
🦊 Kiki’s Opinion: “Sony trying to copyright red hair, robots, and ruins is laughable. By that logic, half of sci-fi should be illegal.” 🍪 Chip: Bouncing with little sweat drops, as if embarrassed for Sony.
🎮 Quick Hits
EA clarifies Battlefield 6 crossplay: no console-only matchmaking. Turning it off = PlayStation with PlayStation, Xbox with Xbox. But with it on, PC players always slip in.
Intel + NVIDIA team up: NVIDIA invests $5B in Intel Corporation; new CPUs with RTX GPU chiplets coming. Monopoly soup brewing.
Epic Games Fortnite creator economy expands: From December, creators keep 100% of V-Bucks revenue through 2026. Roblox should be worried.
Congress subpoenas platforms: Valve corporation Steam, Discord, Twitch, Reddit, Inc. CEOs must testify Oct. 8 over the Charlie Kirk shooting and online radicalization.
🦊 Kiki’s Opinion: “Between lawsuits, monopoly mergers, and government heat, 2025 feels less like a game industry and more like a courtroom drama.” 🍪 Chip: Floating with wide eyes, holding a tiny popcorn bucket.
Stay, Keep, Remember
Stay alert to how these rulings reshape game IP.
Keep watching how publishers weaponize “originality” in court.
Remember: mods, tropes, and fan work fuel innovation — even if the suits pretend they don’t.
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