Honkai: Nexus Anima was recently shown by HoYoverse in a preview video that featured flying mount systems. This has raised concerns about whether Nintendo might take legal action against the Chinese developer. Nintendo is currently in a patent lawsuit with Palworld maker Pocketpair over similar gaming mechanics.
The patent dispute centers around Nintendo’s recent changes to its “mounting-of-flying-objects” patent. These changes have made the patent much broader than before, potentially affecting many games that feature creature mounting systems.
What Patent Issues Could Honkai Nexus Anima Face?
The main concern for Honkai Nexus Anima comes from Nintendo’s amended patent JP7528390. This patent focused initially on the ability to “smoothly switch” between different rideable creatures. However, Nintendo changed the patent during their ongoing case against Palworld. The new version covers almost any situation where players can summon and mount flying creatures.
Legal expert Florian Mueller has stated that the gameplay shown in HoYoverse’s preview video clearly falls under this amended patent. The Honkai Nexus Anima closed beta footage shows characters riding both ground and flying creatures within the first 30 seconds. This basic mechanic is now covered by Nintendo’s patent, even though it appears in many modern games.
The patent amendment happened during Nintendo’s lawsuit against Palworld. Originally, the patent was more specific about “seamless switching” between mounts. When legal experts noted that Palworld’s gliding mechanics did not match this description, Nintendo broadened the patent language. The new wording is much more general and covers basic mounting mechanics that many developers use.
Mueller argues that the revised patent is too broad to be reasonable. He believes that such a basic gaming mechanic should not be restricted for all other game makers. The patent now essentially covers the simple act of summoning a flying object and mounting it, which is a fundamental feature in many action and adventure games.
What Makes Patent Cases Complex?
Patent rules are very technical. Every part of the patent’s claim must match what the game does. Designers can change how mount summoning works to avoid matching the patent exactly. In Palworld’s case, the developers removed some switch-mount features to sidestep the claim. That is why these cases hinge on small but crucial implementation details. If Honkai: Nexus Anima has a different system, it may pass legal muster.
Will Nintendo Actually Sue HoYoverse?
It is still unclear if Nintendo will take action against the game Honkai Nexus Anima. A few different things could influence their decision. HoYoverse is a major Chinese company with significant resources, unlike the smaller Japanese developer Pocketpair. Taking on a large international company would be more complex and expensive than pursuing a smaller studio.
Since Honkai Nexus Anima is still being developed, HoYoverse has time to change its creature mounting systems if necessary. They could alter how players ride flying creatures to avoid any patent problems. However, doing this would mean building new game mechanics from scratch. This could be difficult because these kinds of systems are very common in games today.
How Nintendo handles its patent enforcement in the Palworld case will also be watched by other companies. If Nintendo only sues some developers but ignores others who use similar mechanics, people might question if they are being fair. This kind of selective enforcement could lead to more legal problems for Nintendo later on.
Many people in the gaming world are worried about how Nintendo’s patents could affect creativity. Developers are concerned that very broad patents could stop them from using basic, common game mechanics. The outcome of the Palworld case will likely set important precedents for how AI use in game development and other games handle creature mounting systems. For now, the fate of both Palworld and Honkai Nexus Anima depends on how Japanese courts interpret Nintendo’s patent claims.
