Last summer, Palworld creator Pocketpair entered into an agreement with Sony Music Entertainment to develop merchandise, music, and other products based on the game. While this deal was purely a business move to expand the Palworld brand beyond gaming, many fans misinterpreted it as a sign of an imminent acquisition. This was fueled by earlier rumors that Pocketpair was in discussions with Microsoft for that exact purpose.
Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe later clarified that all acquisition talk was unfounded at the time, though it certainly sparked widespread discussion. Since then, speculation about a potential buyout of Pocketpair has persisted. This is especially true given Microsoft's apparent strategy of acquiring numerous AA studios in recent years, along with reports of its interest in Japanese developers, and Sony's own series of counter-acquisitions.
So, will Pocketpair ever be acquired? The final decision rests with Mizobe. When I posed the question to communications director and publishing manager John ‘Bucky’ Buckley at last month's Game Developers Conference, he considered the prospect of an acquisition extremely unlikely.
“Our CEO would never allow it,” he stated. “He'd never allow it. He'd never allow it. He would never, never allow it. He enjoys pursuing his own vision and being his own boss. He does not like taking orders from others.”
That’s a fairly definitive stance. Buckley went on to say:
“So I would be shocked. Perhaps when he's much older, he might sell the company for financial gain. That would be unfortunate, but I likely won't see it happen in my lifetime. No, it will be fascinating to observe how the two paths develop. We at Pocketpair are, of course, solely focused on the trajectory of the game itself. Regarding the Palworld IP, we are involved, but the primary direction is currently steered by Aniplex and Sony Music. We mainly provide our input and perspectives as they navigate that course.”
During our conversation, Buckley and I also discussed the potential for Palworld to launch on the Nintendo Switch 2, the studio's response to the game being labeled “Pokemon with guns,” and several other topics. You can read our complete interview here.
