Nintendo's Patent For Summoning Characters And Making Them Battle Was Just Rejected

In September 2025, Nintendo was granted a patent for the game mechanic of summoning a “subcharacter” for battle, whether it be automatic or player-controlled. Expectedly, this was controversial; while Pokémon is clearly the driving force behind this patent, and one of the more obvious examples of summoning a creature for battle, many other landmark series — such as Final Fantasy and Persona — utilize a similar mechanic, and risk infringing upon the patent as a result.

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