Main Highlights of the Weekend (April 19-20)

The creators of Palworld consider the patents, which Nintendo and The Pokémon Company accused them of violating, to be invalid; the beta test of Rematch by the developers of Sifu attracted 133,000 concurrent players on Steam; and sales of Ale & Tale Tavern exceeded 600,000 copies—here are the main events in the gaming industry from the past weekend.

Palworld

The portal Games Fray examined the court documents in the case between Pocketpair studio and Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. Specifically, it found that the creators of Palworld are attempting to fight off allegations of patent infringement by asserting the invalidity of these patents. According to Pocketpair, the patent office should not have registered the supposedly invented game mechanics of Nintendo and The Pokémon Company in 2024, as they had been used for years by various other developers. For instance, the throwing mechanic described in the lawsuit has been utilized in games like Rune Factory 5 and Titanfall 2, and the character capture mechanic was seen in games such as Pocket Souls, Octopath Traveler, and Monster Super League.
Late last week, Sloclap, known for the fighting game Sifu, started the beta test for the multiplayer soccer simulator Rematch. The new game garnered significant interest. According to SteamDB data, the peak of concurrent users in the Steam version of the Rematch beta reached 133,838—42 times better than Sifu's maximum result. Additionally, Rematch surpassed EA Sports FC 25, which had a peak concurrent Steam user count of 110,026. The release of Rematch is scheduled for June 19, 2025, on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series.
Slipgate Ironworks and publishers 3D Realms and Knights Peak announced that they mistakenly released the strategy game Tempest Rising a week earlier than planned. Initially, only Deluxe Edition owners were supposed to have early access to the game. After careful consideration, the Tempest Rising team decided to keep the game on sale and gift exclusive content to players who paid for the promised early access as compensation. Notably, Steam users have warmly welcomed Tempest Rising, which currently holds 89% positive reviews, and its peak concurrent player count is 9,370.
Scienart Games announced that the cooperative fantasy tavern simulator Ale & Tale Tavern has been purchased by over 600,000 players. It took seven and a half months to reach this milestone, as the game was released on Steam on September 5, 2024.