HoYoverse has revealed its upcoming title, Honkai: Nexus Anima, however questions have emerged across the sport’s use of flying mounts.
Based on a authorized skilled, the system might fall beneath the identical Nintendo patent at the moment being disputed within the ongoing Palworld lawsuit.
Nintendo and The Pokémon Firm started authorized motion in opposition to Palworld developer Pocketpair in September 2024.
The lawsuit centred on a number of alleged patent infringements, together with using Pal Spheres, which have been claimed to resemble Poké Balls too intently. One of many different key points raised was Nintendo’s patent overlaying the “mounting of flying objects.”
The unique submitting referenced “easily switching” between totally different creatures, however throughout proceedings, Nintendo amended the patent to increase its scope.
The revised wording applies to summoning and using virtually any type of flying mount, probably overlaying mechanics seen throughout a spread of recent video games.
On August 29, HoYoverse shared the primary footage of Honkai: Nexus Anima, which included characters mounting flying creatures.
Authorized analyst Florian Mueller instructed Video games Fray that the mechanic “clearly infringes the amended model of Nintendo’s smooth-switching-of-riding objects patent.”
Nonetheless, Mueller additionally expressed doubts over how enforceable the patent is. He argued that the revised scope is just too broad to fairly limit sport builders.
“It’s a patent on merely with the ability to summon a flying object and mounting it,” he mentioned. “That’s so fundamental that it can’t be proper to ban all different sport makers from implementing it.”
The Palworld lawsuit stays ongoing, with no ruling but on whether or not Nintendo can implement its patent claims.
If the case proceeds in Nintendo’s favour, it might probably have an effect on different builders, together with HoYoverse, who incorporate comparable mechanics into their video games.
