Nintendo secures a new patent for summoning sub-characters in games

• The USPTO granted patent 12,403,397 to Nintendo on September 2, 2025.
• The patent covers scenarios where a summoned character fights, follows, or engages in auto-battles.
• Critics warn that the patent threatens creativity and innovation across the industry.
• While not yet applied to Palworld, the approval leaves its future implications uncertain.

Nintendo has patented a gameplay mechanic that allows in-game characters to summon sub-characters for battle support.

Games Fray learned that the USPTO granted Nintendo patent number 12,403,397 on September 2nd 2025, for a mechanic filed in March 2023.

Now games using similar features to Nintendo’s newly patented mechanic could risk copyright infringement.

Here’s what the new patent covers

(1) There must be a PC, console or other computing device and the game is stored on a drive or similar storage medium.

(2) You can move a character in a virtual space.

(3) You must be able to summon a character. They call it a “sub character” by which they mean it’s not the player character, but, for example, a little monster such as a Pokémon that the player character has at its disposal.

Then the logic branches out, with items (4) and (5) being mutually exclusive scenarios, before reuniting again in item (6):

(4) This is about summoning the “sub character” in a place where there already is another character that it will then (when instructed to do so) fight.

(5) This alternative scenario is about summoning the “sub character” at a position where there is no other character to fight immediately.

(6) This final step is about sending the “sub character” in a direction and then letting an automatic battle ensue with another character. It is not clear whether this is even needed if one previously executed step (4) where the “sub character” will basically be thrown at another character.

“The ‘397 patent poses a fundamental threat to creativity and innovation in the games industry," said Games Fray in the report. 

“That question is not specific to Palworld, but to a large number of games that already have that mechanic as well as future releases that will have it."