Palworld's Unexpected Path: Indie Spirit Over AAA Ambition
Pocketpair, the creators of the wildly successful Palworld, could easily transition to AAA game development given the game's massive profits. However, CEO Takuro Mizobe has revealed a different vision for the studio's future. Read on to discover his reasoning.
Pocketpair Prioritizes Indie Development and Community Support
Palworld's phenomenal success has generated tens of billions of yen in revenue for Pocketpair—a sum that could easily fund a high-budget AAA title. Yet, Mizobe has reaffirmed the company's commitment to the indie development model. In a recent GameSpark interview, he explained that the studio lacks the infrastructure to manage a project of that scale, despite the financial windfall.
Palworld's development leveraged profits from previous titles, Craftopia and Overdungeon. While the current financial success could easily propel the studio into the AAA realm, Mizobe believes that such a leap would be premature. He stated, "If we were to develop our next game based on these proceeds, the scale would surpass AAA, but our organization isn't structured for that." Instead, Mizobe prefers to focus on projects that thrive within the indie space.
Pocketpair intends to explore the potential of indie game development, leveraging improved game engines and industry conditions to achieve global success without the complexities of a large-scale operation. Mizobe credits the indie community for much of Pocketpair's growth and emphasizes the studio's desire to give back.
Expanding the Palworld Universe
Mizobe previously indicated that Pocketpair has no intention of expanding its team or upgrading its facilities. Instead, the focus will be on expanding the Palworld IP through diverse mediums.
Palworld, currently in early access, has already garnered significant praise for its gameplay and consistent updates, including the recent PvP arena and the Sakurajima island expansion. Furthermore, Pocketpair has established Palworld Entertainment in partnership with Sony to manage global licensing and merchandising.
