Last summer, Palworld developer Pocketpair entered into an agreement with Sony Music Entertainment to create merchandise, music, and other products based on the Palworld universe. While this partnership was solely intended to expand the brand's reach beyond gaming, many fans misinterpreted it as a potential sign of an upcoming acquisition. This speculation was further fueled by earlier rumors in the year suggesting that Pocketpair was in discussions with Microsoft for that exact purpose.
Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe later confirmed that all the acquisition talk was unfounded at the time, though it certainly sparked widespread conversation. Since then, fans have continued to speculate about a potential acquisition of Pocketpair. This speculation persists in light of Microsoft's apparent strategy of acquiring numerous mid-sized studios over recent years, with reported interest in Japanese developers, and Sony's own series of acquisitions in response.
So, will Pocketpair ever be acquired? The final decision rests with Mizobe. When I asked communications director and publishing manager John ‘Bucky’ Buckley about it at last month's Game Developers Conference, he considered the likelihood of Pocketpair being acquired to be extremely remote.
“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 respond well to being told what to do.”
That is a very definitive statement. Buckley went on to say:
“So I would be absolutely shocked. Perhaps when he's much older, he might sell the company for financial gain. That would be an unfortunate outcome, but I doubt I will see it happen in my lifetime. It will be fascinating to observe the separate paths each entity takes. We at Pocketpair are solely focused on the development path of our games. Regarding the Palworld intellectual property, we are involved, but its direction is largely being steered by Aniplex and Sony Music at this stage. We 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 reaction to the game being labeled “Pokemon with guns,” and several other topics. You can read our complete interview here.
