Nintendo has patented the basic idea of summoning and battling with creatures in games, and even riding mounts across terrain. These mechanics exist in hundreds of games across RPGs, MMOs, indies, and open-world titles. If enforced, these patents could stifle creativity, harm small developers, and limit the kinds of games we all love to play.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝

In September 2025, Nintendo secured U.S. Patent No. 12,403,397, covering the mechanic of summoning a sub-character (like a monster or pet) to fight another in a virtual field. They also secured Patent No. 12,409,387, covering smoothly switching to a mount when encountering terrain you can’t normally cross.

On paper, these sound like Pokémon features — throwing a ball to summon a creature and riding a Pokémon to cross land, water, or air. But the wording is so broad that they could apply to hundreds of existing games: Final Fantasy summons, Diablo’s Necromancer, Elden Ring’s Spirit Ashes, World of Warcraft pets and mounts, and indie games like Temtem, Nexomon, Monster Sanctuary, and Cassette Beasts.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐬 𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦

• Direct Risk: Games that use capturing or summoning loops similar to Pokémon (Temtem, Coromon, Nexomon, Palworld) are now at risk of lawsuits. Palworld has already been forced to change its core features to avoid infringement.
• Indirect Effect: Even if many games don’t exactly copy Pokémon, developers may avoid making any game with summoning, pet systems, or innovative mounts — fearing Nintendo could use these patents against them. Smaller studios can’t afford a legal fight, so they’ll either water down their ideas or abandon them.
• Consumers Lose: These patents don’t protect innovation; they protect Nintendo’s market position. Players lose out on diverse games, new ideas, and even spiritual successors to beloved classics.

𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐈𝐬 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝

𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘬

• Palworld (Pocketpair) — already was sued; devs removed the ball-throw summon/capture and said further changes (like gliding) were driven by the lawsuit.
• Temtem (Crema) — MMO creature-collector with thrown capture cards and team battles; mechanically very close to the patented sequence and thus exposed in the U.S. market.
• Nexomon (VEWO), Coromon (Tragsoft) — classic throw-device to capture + summon-to-battle loop; small studios with limited legal resources are especially vulnerable. 

𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵

• Final Fantasy (Summoner/Esper/Aeon systems) — player summons a sub-character to fight; different from a thrown device but still within the patent’s broad framing, raising design caution.
• Diablo (Necromancer minions), Baldur’s Gate 3 (Find Familiar/Conjure) — ubiquitous pet/summon combat support; not a Pokéball clone, but lawyers warn patents like this are used in bad faith and chill features devs would otherwise ship.
• World of Warcraft / Final Fantasy XIV (pets + mounts) — long-standing combat pets and mount traversal show how widely these ideas exist; new “smooth mount switching” features could be avoided to steer clear of the riding patent. Windows Central
• Elden Ring (Spirit Ashes + summonable mount) — high-profile example of AI allies and at-will riding; unlikely to infringe directly, but highlights how routine “summon to fight” now is across AAA games. (Industry concern over chilling.) PC Gamer
• Digimon / Ni no Kuni / Yo-kai Watch / Dragon Quest Monsters — monster-partner battling via different capture/taming methods; not one-to-one with a thrown device, yet still caught in the shadow of a patent many fear will be aimed broadly at “creature battlers.”

• Monster Sanctuary (Moi Rai) — team-based monster battles via eggs/loot, no ball-throwing; still a summon-to-fight loop.
• Ooblets (Glumberland) — obtains creatures by growing/seeds and uses dance battles; far from the throw-capture loop.

There are many more games that can be indirectly affected by this patent. Smaller “monster-tamer” projects now have to walk around eggshells in order to meet the criteria while still making an enjoyable game.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐨𝐫

We, the undersigned, call for:

• Nintendo to publicly commit not to enforce these patents against indie developers or other games outside Pokémon.
• The U.S. Patent Office to review these patents, which are overly broad and cover common, decades-old mechanics.
• Lawmakers and regulators to re-examine how gameplay patents are granted, ensuring they protect true innovation, not basic game design

𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠

With this patent, fewer games will risk summoning companions, creature collection, or seamless mounts—not because they’re illegal, but because the threat is enough to kill features in prototypes and updates. It sets a dangerous precedent: if “summoning a creature” or “riding a mount” can be patented, then nearly any game mechanic could be — jumping, crafting, even inventory systems. The result would be a legal minefield for developers and fewer choices for players.

Together, we can send a message: video game mechanics should not be locked behind monopolistic patents. Protect creativity. Protect indie developers. Protect the future of gaming.