Palworld Switch 2: Pocketpair's CEO says he would love talks, but Nintendo's lawsuit is still live

Palworld Switch 2: what Mizobe actually said

Is a Palworld Switch 2 version coming? Not yet. Pocketpair has announced no Switch 2 version, but CEO Takuro Mizobe told VGC on October 27, 2026 that the studio would like to talk about it. Asked whether a port was a real possibility now that the hardware is known, he answered "Of course." That is interest, not a release plan.

He called the console "a really amazing platform", especially in Japan, and said that if there is ever a chance to discuss bringing Palworld to the Switch platform in some form, Pocketpair would "love to have those conversations." Note the wording: conversations, with someone, at some point. Nobody has said a port is in development.

Be wary of headlines that read this as a green light. VGC's report notes that Mizobe did not address the lawsuit, and GoNintendo's write-up says the courtroom battle is "still raging on to this day." A friendly answer about hardware, from a company that cannot legally talk about its biggest legal problem, tells you about mood and little else.

How the answer has changed since 2024

This is a real shift in tone. According to VGC, Mizobe said in June 2024 that a Switch version was unlikely because of the original console's technical capabilities. In March 2025, Pocketpair communications director John Buckley told IGN that Palworld is "a beefy game" that would not run on the original Switch, while a Switch 2 version was "100% worth considering" if the hardware was powerful enough.

So the technical objection has gone from a flat no to a maybe, and now to a CEO saying yes to the idea. What has not changed is the harder obstacle. The hardware question is one a studio can solve with engineering. The other obstacle sits in a Tokyo courtroom.

Where the Nintendo lawsuit stands

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company filed a patent infringement suit against Pocketpair in the Tokyo District Court on September 18, 2024, and announced it the next day. Nintendo's notice says the plaintiffs seek an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages. The case is still open more than two years later.

Mizobe did not discuss it. VGC says the lawsuit was the only off-limits topic in the interview, because Pocketpair cannot legally comment on it. Reporting that Switch 2 talk is happening 'despite' the suit is fair, but it is the interviewer's framing, not a statement from Pocketpair about how the two connect.

What changed in the case: narrower claims, small money

VGC reports that the suit was modified in November 2025 to focus on older versions of Palworld. Pocketpair had by then released updates removing two contested mechanics: throwing a Pal Sphere to summon a Pal, and Pal-based gliding. In plain terms, Nintendo is no longer chasing the game as it ships today.

The money is small too. In a June 13, 2026 piece, VGC cited Gamesfray saying the most Nintendo could get is 5 million yen, about $30,000, and quoted the same source: "This litigation is no longer about anything serious in commercial terms." Treat that as an outside estimate. Nintendo's original filing, as summarized by Wikipedia from Nintendo's Japanese notice, sought 10 million yen, about $65,000, plus fees.

The patent office side: a rejection in Japan, a review in the US

Two patent-office events get mixed into this story, and they do not mean what headlines imply. In Japan, the patent office issued a Notice of Reasons for Refusal dated October 22, 2025 on Nintendo application 2024-031879, saying the claimed invention "could have easily been made by persons who have common knowledge in the technical field." Nintendo Life reports that it is not one of the Palworld patents, though it shares a parent with JP7493117 and is the parent of JP7545191, both central to the case. The rejection is non-final, so Nintendo can amend and resubmit.

In the US, VGC reported on November 4, 2025 that USPTO director John Squires ordered a re-examination of a Nintendo patent on a sub-character that fights for the player, finding that "substantial new questions of patentability have arisen." That is a separate American patent. The Tokyo case concerns Japanese patents, and VGC's report does not tie the US review to it. Neither event decides anything in Tokyo.

November 9 is the date to watch

VGC says the Tokyo District Court is set to disclose its preliminary view on November 9. Its June report said both sides had submitted evidence, with court presentation planned for October 1 and opinions expected November 9. A preliminary view is not a judgment, but it is the first public signal of which way the judges lean.

VGC's own reading is that Pocketpair would likely need to resolve the dispute before any Switch 2 release. That is a sensible inference rather than a confirmed fact, since no one has said Nintendo would block a port. Still, publishing a game on a platform owned by the company suing you is a hard sell for both sides.

What it means if you want Palworld on Switch 2

Do not plan around a port. The honest state of play on October 28, 2026: a CEO is open to talks, the technical excuse has softened, and the legal fight is narrower and cheaper than it was. None of that is a platform deal, a date or a price.

Pocketpair is not a small studio with nothing to show. VGC's interview says Pocketpair now counts more than 40 million Palworld players, after early access reportedly reached 25 million players in a single month. A company with that audience will talk to every platform holder it can. The question is whether Nintendo wants that conversation while the case is open, and only November 9 and what follows will start to answer it.

For now the practical advice is simple: do not plan around a Nintendo version. Anyone holding out for one should watch two things: whether the court's November 9 view favors either side, and whether Nintendo or Pocketpair says anything about a deal afterwards.