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A Nintendo and The Pokémon Company patent has prompted concern that familiar summon-and-battle mechanics in RPGs and MMOs could be affected. But it is not a blanket patent on summoned creatures fighting, and “hundreds” is a risk estimate—not a verified count of games or a finding that any named title infringes. The U.S. patent’s 26 claims received a non-final rejection in March 2026; Nintendo responded in June, and the reexamination was still pending in the latest status report, published in September 2026.
What does the Nintendo patent describe?
The story concerns U.S. Patent No. 12,403,397, granted to Nintendo and The Pokémon Company in September 2025. Coverage describes a particular sequence involving a player-controlled character, a summoned sub-character, movement to a designated location, and conditional battle behavior. That is narrower than the general idea of summoning a creature to fight.
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PC Gamer’s April 1, 2026 explanation describes the sequence this way: the player gives input to summon a sub-character at a chosen location. If an enemy is there, the summoned character enters battle; if not, it begins moving automatically. The player can then give another input to direct it to a new location, where it may engage in an automated battle. Windows Central’s September 9, 2025 summary describes the concept more simply as a secondary character that fights automatically or following input, with additional behavior if no enemy is initially present.
These are summaries of the patent dispute, not legal tests. The issued claims’ exact wording and every limitation in them matter when assessing a particular game.
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Why are RPGs and MMOs being discussed?
Games coverage has pointed to mechanics players already recognize: Diablo IV’s Necromancer minions, World of Warcraft’s warlock demons and hunter pets, and Elden Ring’s Mimic Tear. These examples help explain why developers and players worried that a broad interpretation of the patent might reach beyond the specific game context that prompted the coverage. They do not establish that any of those games infringes.
GamesRadar+ reported on September 26, 2025, that patent analyst Florian Mueller considered concerns about hundreds of games at risk valid in principle, while noting that the practical threat depends on interpretation and enforcement. The available reporting does not supply an independently verified inventory of affected games. “Hundreds” should therefore be read as a possible-risk framing, not a measured total.
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What is the patent’s current status?
The USPTO’s November 4, 2025 notice confirms that Director John A. Squires ordered an ex parte reexamination of U.S. Patent No. 12,403,397, proceeding 90/020,162. The procedural record reported by PC Gamer says an examiner issued a non-final action in March 2026 rejecting all 26 claims. Nintendo could respond; ExamPat’s proceeding tracker records a response in June 2026.
A September 2026 status report from Sekin IP says the reexamination had not reached a final decision. On the latest reporting available here, the claims had received a non-final rejection and the reexamination remained pending. That is not the same as a final cancellation: no final decision or reexamination certificate establishing cancellation is reported.
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Does this mean a particular game infringes?
No conclusion about infringement follows from the examples in news coverage or from a game having summonable allies. A product-specific assessment would require comparing its implementation against each limitation of an enforceable claim. For developers looking to understand the issue, the reporting suggests these useful questions:
- Can a player-controlled character summon a sub-character at a selected location?
- What does the sub-character do when an enemy is present, and what does it do when no enemy is present?
- Can player input redirect the sub-character or select how it engages in battle?
- Does the game’s implementation match every relevant limitation in a claim that remains enforceable?
These are issue-spotting questions, not legal advice or a substitute for reviewing the patent claims with qualified counsel.
Is this the same as Nintendo’s Palworld case?
No. The U.S. reexamination of Patent No. 12,403,397 is separate from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s patent lawsuit against Pocketpair in Japan. The result of the U.S. proceeding does not itself resolve that Japanese case, nor does it determine the validity of other patents.
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