HoYoverse has revealed its upcoming title, Honkai: Nexus Anima, but questions have emerged around the game’s use of flying mounts.
According to a legal expert, the system may fall under the same Nintendo patent currently being disputed in the ongoing Palworld lawsuit.
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company began legal action against Palworld developer Pocketpair in September 2024.
The lawsuit centred on multiple alleged patent infringements, including the use of Pal Spheres, which were claimed to resemble Poké Balls too closely. One of the other key issues raised was Nintendo’s patent covering the “mounting of flying objects.”
The original filing referenced “smoothly switching” between different creatures, but during proceedings, Nintendo amended the patent to extend its scope.
The revised wording applies to summoning and riding almost any form of flying mount, potentially covering mechanics seen across a range of modern games.
On August 29, HoYoverse shared the first footage of Honkai: Nexus Anima, which included characters mounting flying creatures.
Legal analyst Florian Mueller told Games Fray that the mechanic “clearly infringes the amended version of Nintendo’s smooth-switching-of-riding objects patent.”
However, Mueller also expressed doubts over how enforceable the patent is. He argued that the revised scope is too broad to reasonably restrict game developers.
“It is a patent on simply being able to summon a flying object and mounting it,” he said. “That is so basic that it cannot be right to prohibit all other game makers from implementing it.”
The Palworld lawsuit remains ongoing, with no ruling yet on whether Nintendo can enforce its patent claims.
If the case proceeds in Nintendo’s favour, it could potentially affect other developers, including HoYoverse, who incorporate similar mechanics into their games.
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