If there was ever a good moment to slip a bargain-bin mashup of Nintendo\u2019s biggest IPs onto gaming marketplaces, it might be right now, as the Japanese entertainment giant gears up to battle the United States government in court over tariffs. Maaaaaybe Nintendo\u2019s lawyers will be too busy filing briefs to notice another Pok\u00e9mon-esque survival game starring a Breath of the Wild<\/em> Link-like creeping onto Steam. Yeah\u2026 maybe…<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Enter Pickmon<\/em>, a newly revealed \u201cmultiplayer open-world survival crafter\u201d from developer PocketGame and publisher NETWORKGO, the latter of which previously released the obscure fantasy title Hainya World<\/em>. For a game so egregiously ripping off Nintendo properties, hand it to PocketGame for launching a trailer ahead of an unannounced release date! That takes guts.<\/p>\n According to its Steam page, Pickmon <\/em>players will \u201cdive into a vast, uncharted continent filled with ancient civilizations and mysterious creatures called \u2018Pickmon.\u2019\u201d Surprisingly, players will team up with the monsters to fight enemies, gather resources, farm land, and build what the developers describe as sprawling \u201cindustrial empires.\u201d So you get a little Palworld<\/em> in there, too.<\/p>\n The twist, for any of Nintendo\u2019s lawyers who are reading this, is that you use cards to tame the beasts. Thankfully for PocketGame, Nintendo does not own Yu-Gi-Oh.<\/p>\n However, Blizzard Entertainment can claim copyright on Roadhog from Overwatch<\/em>, who is also in Pickmon<\/em>‘s reveal trailer for some reason.<\/p>\n Traditionally, Nintendo has allowed little wiggle room for projects or companies that wander too close to its property. Nintendo is currently locked in a closely watched legal fight with Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld<\/em>, over what was seen as copyright infringement. The lawsuit \u2014 filed in November 2024 \u2014 hinges partly on patents related to monster-summoning mechanics commonly associated with Nintendo\u2019s Pok\u00e9mon franchise. But the legal battle has gotten more complicated over time. In November 2025, just weeks after Japanese authorities rejected Nintendo\u2019s attempt to patent certain Pok\u00e9mon-style monster-capture mechanics, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office took the unusual step of re-examining one of Nintendo\u2019s previously granted patents.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Nintendo has another courtroom fight brewing with the current U.S. government. The company recently filed suit in the United States Court of International Trade challenging tariffs imposed under executive orders from President Donald Trump. Nintendo argues the duties, implemented using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, were unlawful and is seeking refunds with interest on tariffs it paid as the importer of record for its products.<\/p>\n For a company known for aggressively defending its intellectual property, Nintendo doesn\u2019t always win: Earlier this year, a grocery store named \u201cSuper Mario\u201d in San Ram\u00f3n, Costa Rica successfully defended its trademark against the gaming giant.<\/p>\n Still, given Nintendo\u2019s track record \u2014 and its heightened scrutiny of monster-taming competitors \u2014 it\u2019s hard to imagine Pickmon<\/em> being long for this world. So enjoy (?) the trailer while you can.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Pickmon](\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pickmon-reveal-trailer-1-31-screenshot.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2\")
\n <\/picture>Image: PocketGame\/NETWORKGO<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n