Palworld Communications Director Says Developer Unlikely to Be Acquired: ‘Our CEO Would Never Allow It’

Last summer, Palworld developer Pocketpair signed a woody with Sony Music Entertainment to nutrient merchandise, music, and different products astir Palworld. Though the woody was simply a concern statement to grow the Palworld beingness extracurricular of games, a fig of fans mistook it for a motion that an acquisition was connected the horizon. Especially aft rumors earlier successful the twelvemonth that Pocketpair was successful talks with Microsoft for that precise reason.

All that acquisition speech wasn’t existent astatine the time, Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe aboriginal confirmed, but it definite did get speech started. Since then, a fig of fans person speculated connected a imaginable Pocketpair acquisition, particularly successful the aftermath of Microsoft seemingly acquiring fractional the AA manufacture successful conscionable a fewer years and allegedly courting Japanese developers, and Sony making respective acquisitions of its ain successful response.

So volition Pocketpair ever get acquired? Ultimately, it’s up to Mizobe, but erstwhile I asked communications manager and publishing manager John ‘Bucky’ Buckley astir it astatine the Game Developers Conference past month, helium recovered the full imaginable of Pocketpair’s acquisition to beryllium very, precise unlikely.

“Our CEO would ne'er let it,” helium said. “He'd ne'er let it. He'd ne'er let it. He would never, ne'er let it. He likes doing his ain happening and helium likes being his ain boss. He doesn't similar radical telling him what to do.”

That’s beauteous emphatic. Buckley continued:

“So I would beryllium shocked. Maybe erstwhile he's old, and helium mightiness conscionable merchantability it disconnected for money. And that would beryllium sad, but successful my lifetime, I astir apt won't spot it. No, it'll beryllium absorbing to spot wherever the 2 paths go. We, Pocketpair, are evidently lone progressive successful wherever the crippled way is going. Palworld arsenic an IP, we are involved, but it’s precise overmuch successful the hands of Aniplex and Sony Music who are steering that vessel close now. We are conscionable offering our proposal and thoughts arsenic they instrumentality that.”

Buckley and I besides spoke astir the anticipation of Palworld coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, the studio’s absorption to the crippled being called “Pokemon with guns”, and overmuch much successful our interview. You tin work the afloat treatment close here.

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. You tin find her posting connected BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].