Palworld CEO Rejects Acquisition: 'Never Allowed'

Last summer, the developer behind Palworld, Pocketpair, signed a deal with Sony Music Entertainment to broaden the Palworld universe beyond gaming, encompassing merchandise, music, and other products. This business agreement sparked confusion among fans, who mistook it for an indication of an impending acquisition, fueled further by rumors earlier in the year suggesting that Pocketpair was in discussions with Microsoft for such a move.

Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe later debunked these acquisition rumors, yet the topic continued to stir discussion within the gaming community. The speculation persisted, driven by Microsoft's aggressive acquisition strategy across the AA gaming industry and their interest in Japanese developers, alongside Sony's own series of acquisitions.

The question remains: Will Pocketpair be acquired? The decision ultimately lies with Mizobe. However, when I discussed this with Pocketpair's communications director and publishing manager, John 'Bucky' Buckley, at the Game Developers Conference last month, he expressed strong doubts about the possibility of an acquisition.

"Our CEO would never allow it," Buckley stated emphatically. "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 elaborated on this stance, saying, "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."

Buckley and I also spoke about the potential of Palworld being released on the Nintendo Switch 2, the studio's response to the game being dubbed "Pokemon with guns", and other topics in our interview. You can delve into the full conversation right here.