PATCH NOTES: v24.09.2026 – Nintendo should have been taking a victory lap this week, following the release of Splatoon Raiders on July 23. At a time where discussion should have been focused entirely around the latest Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, attention on the platform holder's activities has been divided between two ongoing legal battles.
What's going on with Nintendo this week?
- The first Splatoon spin-off launched as a Switch 2 exclusive
- A patent infringement lawsuit hit a new roadblock
- Request was made to dismiss a class-action lawsuit
Why is this happening now?
- The legal system works in weird and mysterious ways
- Nintendo has been embroiled in a dispute with Pocketpair for two years
- Two battles on the same week as Splatoon Raiders is bad timing
Meta Shift
This should have been a straightforward week for Nintendo. After a year of anticipation, Splatoon Raiders finally arrived, giving the Switch 2 one of its most compelling first-party exclusives. At any other time, this delightful spin-off – a confident shift away from the multiplayer focus that has otherwise defined the franchise – would have dominated the conversation for days.
Instead, Nintendo spent the Splatoon Raiders launch window fighting legal battles on multiple fronts. Attention was repeatedly diverted by fresh developments related to the ongoing legal dispute against Palworld developer Pocketpair, as well as a new court filing in a US class action lawsuit over the impact of tariffs.
While none of these stories are directly related, they do provide a window into one of the challenges Nintendo faces in 2026: launching platform-defining exclusives while simultaneously fighting to defend its business priorities in courtrooms all around the world.
Known Issue
- Another strange twist in the Palworld lawsuit
The biggest distraction from Splatoon Raiders' release week was undoubtedly from Japan, with a new development from a patent dispute adjacent to Nintendo and Palworld developer Pocketpair's ongoing legal battle. Nintendo has been attempting to patent the 'in-game monster-capturing system' popularized by Pokemon, which the Japanese Patent Office has rejected.
This decision has prompted Nintendo and the JPO to enter into a pretty extraordinary back-and-forth of counterarguments that, frankly, are well worth your time if you have it to spare. While this fight isn't at the center of the legal battle with Palworld, it certainly doesn't help Nintendo's case at all.
Patent disputes are difficult to follow at the best of times, but that's why this story was so essential – it illustrates just how complex these types of legal proceedings can become, and how entertaining it can be when they boil over in public.
The Japanese Patent Office has officially had enough of Nintendo, rejecting a patent attached to the Palworld lawsuit with "rarely seen" sass
- And then there was the tariff lawsuit
Just as players started to lock into arguments over whether it's even fair for Nintendo to test the strength of gameplay patents in this way (hint: enjoyers of Palworld 1.0 would say that it is not), a legal story with some spice emerged from the United States. This may have flown under your radar, but Nintendo is actually engaged in legal battles over tariffs.
Nintendo filed a lawsuit earlier this year over what it alleges was an "unlawful imposition of tariffs" by the US. This prompted two individuals to file a class action lawsuit against Nintendo; the pair claim that if Nintendo is owed refunds on collected tariffs, then so too should be consumers who purchased Nintendo products at increased prices.
Nintendo bit back hard, suggesting that players were "free to abstain from purchasing the product or seek out competing products" and that they got "exactly what they bargained for and paid for." Ouch.
Nintendo says Switch fans got "exactly what they bargained and paid for" so they're "not entitled to a rebate" over tariff-inflated console prices
Patch Notes Summary
- One company, three conversations
Nintendo spent the Switch era cultivating an image that it was consumer-first and software-focused. To see three separate conversations kickstart within days of each other – one about a platform exclusive, one around Japanese patent law, and the other around US consumer litigation – has created the impression that Nintendo's priorities are now being pulled in different directions.
Lawsuits and legal filings landing the same week as Splatoon Raiders is unfortunate – the courts work to their own schedules, not to the hype cycles we spend our lives following. But the diverting of attention in this way has been fascinating to witness.
Nintendo will have plenty of other moments to celebrate this year, with Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and The Duskbloods all expected to land. Whether they will also converge with ongoing legal disputes remains to be seen, but one thing's for certain: Nintendo needs to pull the focus of players back to video games and away from the courts.
Still, regardless of all the legal drama that has (admittedly) been pretty entertaining to watch from afar, I'll be spending this weekend diving into Splatoon Raiders. What about you?
Related Stories:
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Palworld lead says "you'll always be able to play" the survival game: "Why would you assume it had an 'end of service?'"
