Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s U.S. Patent No. 12,403,397 has prompted concern that summon-and-battle mechanics in role-playing games and MMOs could face legal risk. But “hundreds” is a warning about potential reach, not a verified count of affected games or a finding that any named title infringes. In the latest status reporting available in September 2026, the patent’s reexamination remained open after a non-final rejection of all 26 claims.
What Nintendo’s patent is about
The patent describes a particular sequence involving a player-controlled character and a summoned sub-character. In PC Gamer’s explanation of the claims, the player provides input to summon the sub-character at a designated location. If an enemy is there, the sub-character can enter battle; if not, it can begin moving automatically. The player can also provide input directing it to another location, where it may engage in an automated battle.
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That is more specific than the broad idea of summoning a creature to fight. The issued patent’s precise language—not a short media summary—would have to be compared with a game’s actual implementation to assess whether a particular claim could apply.
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GamesRadar+ quoted patent analyst Florian Mueller discussing the concern that a broad interpretation or enforcement of the patent could reach many games. That is an attributed risk assessment, not an audited inventory. The reporting reviewed does not establish how many games match the claims.
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Windows Central pointed to summon-like mechanics in Diablo IV, World of Warcraft and Elden Ring as examples that help explain the concern. Those examples do not mean a court or patent office has found that any of those games infringes. Similarities in theme or a familiar mechanic are not, by themselves, enough to establish that a product meets every limitation of a patent claim.
What has happened in the U.S. patent proceeding
| Date | Reported event | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | Nintendo and The Pokémon Company received U.S. Patent No. 12,403,397. | The patent became the subject of public concern about summon-related game mechanics. |
| November 4, 2025 | The USPTO confirmed that Director John A. Squires ordered an ex parte reexamination, proceeding 90/020,162. | The agency began reexamining the patent; this was not a final decision cancelling it. |
| March 2026 | PC Gamer reported that an examiner issued a non-final action rejecting all 26 claims. | The rejection was not final. Nintendo could respond and seek further review. |
| June 2026 | ExamPat’s proceeding tracker recorded a Nintendo response after the non-final action. | The reexamination continued after the rejection. |
| September 2026 | Sekin IP reported that the reexamination had not reached a final decision or reexamination certificate. | The available reporting described the proceeding as still pending. |
The key distinction is procedural: a non-final rejection is not the same as a final cancellation. The latest reporting cited here does not establish that the patent has been revoked.
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What this does—and does not—mean for game developers
A developer assessing exposure would need to review the issued claims and compare them with how its own game works. Relevant questions include whether a player-controlled character summons a sub-character at a selected location, what the summoned character does when an enemy is present or absent, and whether player input redirects it or selects a battle behavior. These are issue-spotting questions, not a substitute for legal analysis of each claim and implementation.
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A shared feature such as a summoned companion or automated combat does not settle the question. The patent’s full claim language and the specific mechanics in a game matter. The sources reviewed do not report an infringement finding against the games named in coverage.
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Is this connected to the Palworld case in Japan?
No. The U.S. reexamination of Patent No. 12,403,397 is a separate proceeding from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s patent lawsuit against Pocketpair in Japan. The U.S. proceeding does not decide that Japanese case, and its outcome would not determine the validity of other patents.
What players and investors can reasonably take away
For players, the coverage signals a dispute over how narrowly or broadly particular game-system claims should be read; it does not establish that familiar summon mechanics are disappearing or that named games have been found to infringe. For investors and developers, the practical signal is uncertainty: the patent’s status was unresolved in the latest reporting, and the possible reach cannot be measured from the “hundreds” headline alone.
Sources for the procedural updates include the USPTO’s November 4, 2025 notice; PC Gamer’s April 1, 2026 account of the claim sequence and non-final rejection; ExamPat’s tracker through June 25, 2026; and Sekin IP’s September 2026 status report. Windows Central’s September 9, 2025 coverage and GamesRadar+’s September 26, 2025 article describe the original concern and the attributed “hundreds” risk framing.
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