Palworld Communications Director Says Developer Unlikely to Be Acquired: ‘Our CEO Would Never Allow It’

Last summer, Palworld's developer, Pocketpair, entered into a significant agreement with Sony Music Entertainment. This partnership aims to expand the Palworld universe beyond the realm of gaming, venturing into merchandise, music, and other products. However, this business deal led some fans to mistakenly believe that it signaled an impending acquisition, particularly after earlier rumors surfaced that Pocketpair was negotiating with Microsoft for such a purpose.

Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe later debunked these acquisition rumors, but the conversation around this topic has persisted. The speculation is fueled by Microsoft's aggressive acquisition strategy within the AA gaming industry and their interest in Japanese developers, as well as Sony's own series of acquisitions in response.

The question of whether Pocketpair will ever be acquired remains open, but it seems highly unlikely according to John 'Bucky' Buckley, the company's communications director and publishing manager. Speaking at the Game Developers Conference, Buckley emphasized that CEO Takuro Mizobe's desire for independence would prevent any acquisition.

"Our CEO would never allow it," Buckley stated firmly. "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's comments suggest that Mizobe values autonomy over the potential benefits of being acquired. 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."

In addition to discussing acquisition prospects, Buckley also touched on 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 during our interview. You can delve into the full discussion here.