Palworld's CEO Rejects Acquisition: 'It's Not Happening'

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. This business agreement led some fans to mistakenly believe that an acquisition by Sony was imminent, especially following rumors earlier in the year that Pocketpair was in talks with Microsoft for a similar purpose.

Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe later clarified that the acquisition rumors were untrue, but the discussions certainly sparked interest among fans. Since then, speculation about a potential acquisition has continued, fueled by Microsoft's acquisitions within the AA industry and their interest in Japanese developers, as well as Sony's own acquisitions in response.

The question remains: will Pocketpair ever be acquired? The decision ultimately rests with Mizobe. At the Game Developers Conference last month, Pocketpair's communications director and publishing manager, John 'Bucky' Buckley, expressed strong skepticism about the possibility of an acquisition. He stated, “Our CEO would never allow it. 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 remarks were clear and definitive. 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 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.