Palworld: Pushing the Boundaries of Gaming's Trinity

Palworld's Unexpected Path: Indie Spirit Over AAA Ambition

Pocketpair, the developer behind the wildly successful creature-catching game Palworld, has amassed significant profits. The game's phenomenal success could easily fund a "beyond AAA" title, yet CEO Takuro Mizobe has charted a different course. Instead of scaling to a massive, high-budget production, Pocketpair is doubling down on its indie roots.

Mizobe revealed in a GameSpark interview that Palworld's revenue is in the "tens of billions of yen" – a substantial sum. Despite this windfall, he believes Pocketpair lacks the organizational structure to handle a project of that magnitude. He emphasized that Palworld's development was funded by previous titles, Craftopia and Overdungeon, and that a massive budget now wouldn't translate to efficient growth.

Mizobe explicitly stated, "If we were to develop our next game based on these proceeds...not only would the scale go beyond AAA, but we wouldn’t be able to keep up...we aren’t structured for something like that at all." He expressed a preference for projects aligning with the indie game space, citing its evolving landscape as more conducive to global success.

The studio is prioritizing manageable growth within the indie sphere, recognizing the challenges inherent in large-scale AAA game development. Mizobe highlighted the advantages of improved game engines and industry conditions, allowing indie developers to achieve global reach without extensive teams. He also underscored Pocketpair's gratitude to the indie community, emphasizing a desire to give back.

Rather than expanding their team or upgrading facilities, Pocketpair plans to expand the Palworld intellectual property into various mediums. This includes leveraging recent successes, such as the highly anticipated PvP arena and the Sakurajima update, along with the newly formed Palworld Entertainment (in collaboration with Sony) for global licensing and merchandise. The focus remains on organic growth and community engagement, a testament to Pocketpair's commitment to its indie identity.