Palworld CEO Rejects Acquisition: 'Never Allow It,' Says Communications Director

Last summer, the developer of Palworld, Pocketpair, signed a deal with Sony Music Entertainment to expand the Palworld universe through merchandise, music, and other products. While this was strictly a business agreement aimed at broadening the Palworld brand beyond gaming, it led some fans to mistakenly believe it signaled an impending acquisition. This confusion was exacerbated by rumors earlier in the year suggesting that Pocketpair was in negotiations with Microsoft for a buyout.

However, Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe later clarified that the acquisition rumors were unfounded, yet they certainly sparked a lot of discussion. Since then, speculation about Pocketpair's potential acquisition has persisted, fueled by Microsoft's aggressive acquisition strategy in the AA gaming sector and their interest in Japanese developers, as well as Sony's own acquisition moves in response.

The question remains: will Pocketpair ever be acquired? The decision ultimately lies with Mizobe. At the Game Developers Conference last month, I spoke with Pocketpair's communications director and publishing manager, John 'Bucky' Buckley, about this topic. Buckley strongly suggested that an acquisition of Pocketpair is highly unlikely.

“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 elaborated further, 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 discussed the potential of Palworld coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, the studio's response to the game being dubbed “Pokemon with guns”, and more in our interview. You can read the full discussion right here.