Last summer, Palworld developer Pocketpair signed a deal with Sony Music Entertainment to expand the Palworld universe beyond gaming through merchandise, music, and other products. This business agreement led some fans to mistakenly believe it signaled an impending acquisition, fueled by earlier rumors that Pocketpair was in discussions with Microsoft for a potential buyout.
However, Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe later debunked the acquisition rumors, yet the speculation persisted, especially given Microsoft's aggressive acquisition strategy in the AA gaming sector and Sony's counter-moves in the industry. The question of whether Pocketpair might be acquired remains open, but when I discussed this with communications director and publishing manager John 'Bucky' Buckley at the Game Developers Conference, he dismissed the idea vehemently.
"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 being his own boss. He doesn't like people telling him what to do."
Buckley's strong stance makes it clear that an acquisition is highly unlikely under Mizobe's leadership. He added, "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 for Palworld to be released on the Nintendo Switch 2, the studio's response to the game being dubbed "Pokemon with guns," and more. You can read the full interview here.
