Nintendo and the Pokémon Company’s ongoing legal campaign against Palworld developer, Pocketpair has hit another roadblock. Just weeks after Japan dismissed Nintendo’s attempt to patent several Pokémon-style monster-catching and throwing mechanics, the United States has taken the unusual step of re-examining an already granted Pokémon patent over concerns it may be invalid.

In September, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) awarded Nintendo a Pokémon patent that revolves around summoning a character and letting it fight. Games Fray has reported that USPTO director John A. Squires ordered a re-examination of the patent. In his order, Mr Squires referred to two older U.S. patent applications — one filed by Konami in 2002, the other by Nintendo itself in 2019 — as “prior art” references. Mr Squires said that both would be “important in deciding whether the claims are patentable.”

According to Games Fray, while the order doesn’t guarantee that Nintendo’s patent will be revoked, it does make it “highly likely.” Nintendo has two months to respond to the order, and third parties are also able to present their own disputes within that time.

Concurrently, Nintendo has raised its full-year sales and earnings forecasts for the Switch 2, signalling confidence in the strong momentum of its new flagship console after posting dramatically higher first-half profits.

On Tuesday, the Japanese video game company reported stronger-than-expected net profit for the six months ending in September, with revenue more than doubling on the back of robust demand for the Switch 2 and new releases from hit franchises such as Mario Kart and Donkey Kong. Nintendo also increased its dividend forecast as part of an upgraded pay-out policy.

The company now expects to sell 19 million Switch 2 units by March next year, up from its previous projection of 15 million. As of September, cumulative sales for the device stood at 10.4 million units.

Nintendo is aiming to replicate the runaway success of the original Switch, which experienced a surge in popularity during the pandemic-driven gaming boom.

Launched in June, the Switch 2 marks Nintendo’s first new gaming console in eight years. The device features a larger, more responsive display, improved graphics performance and new online capabilities that let players chat and share gameplay with friends in real time.