Palworld CEO Rejects Acquisition: 'Never Happening'

Last summer, Palworld's developer, Pocketpair, entered into a significant business agreement with Sony Music Entertainment. This deal was focused on expanding the Palworld universe beyond video games, encompassing merchandise, music, and other related products. Despite the clear intentions of the agreement, some fans misinterpreted it as an indication that Pocketpair was on the verge of being acquired. This confusion was exacerbated by earlier rumors that the studio had been in discussions with Microsoft regarding a potential acquisition.

Pocketpair's CEO, Takuro Mizobe, later clarified that the acquisition rumors were unfounded at the time. However, the speculation ignited discussions among the gaming community, particularly given Microsoft's recent acquisitions of numerous AA studios and their interest in Japanese developers, as well as Sony's own acquisitions in the industry.

The question of whether Pocketpair will ever be acquired remains open, but it largely depends on Mizobe's decisions. When I spoke to Pocketpair's communications director and publishing manager, John 'Bucky' Buckley, at the Game Developers Conference last month, he expressed strong skepticism about the likelihood of an acquisition.

"Our CEO would never allow it," Buckley stated emphatically. "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 further elaborated, "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."

During our conversation, Buckley and I also discussed the potential for Palworld to be released on the Nintendo Switch 2, the studio's response to the game being dubbed "Pokemon with guns," and other topics. You can delve into the complete interview [ttpp] here [ttpp].