Palworld's Communications Director: CEO Firmly Against Acquisition

Last summer, the developer of Palworld, Pocketpair, entered into a significant agreement with Sony Music Entertainment. This partnership was aimed at expanding the Palworld universe beyond video games, focusing on merchandise, music, and other products. However, this business deal sparked rumors among fans that it signaled an impending acquisition of Pocketpair, especially following earlier whispers that the company was in discussions with Microsoft for a buyout.

Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe later clarified that these acquisition rumors were unfounded at the time. Nonetheless, the speculation has persisted, fueled by Microsoft's aggressive acquisition strategy within the AA gaming industry and their interest in Japanese developers, as well as Sony's own acquisitions in response.

The question remains: will Pocketpair ever be acquired? The decision ultimately lies with Mizobe. At the recent Game Developers Conference, I discussed this with Pocketpair's communications director and publishing manager, John 'Bucky' Buckley, who expressed a strong belief that an acquisition is highly unlikely.

"Our CEO would never allow it," Buckley emphasized. "He'd never allow it. He'd never allow it. He would never, never allow it. He likes doing his own thing and he likes being his own boss. He doesn't like people telling him what to do."

Buckley's firm stance suggests that Mizobe values his independence and autonomy. However, Buckley also noted a potential scenario: "So I would be shocked. Maybe when he's old, and he might just sell it off for money. And that would be sad, but in my lifetime, I probably won't see it. No, it'll be interesting to see where the two paths go. We, Pocketpair, are obviously only involved in where the game path is going. Palworld as an IP, we are involved, but it’s very much in the hands of Aniplex and Sony Music who are steering that ship right now. We are just offering our advice and thoughts as they take that."

In our interview, Buckley and I also touched on the possibility of Palworld coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, the studio's response to the game being labeled "Pokemon with guns," and more. You can dive into the full discussion [ttpp].