Palworld's Unexpected Path: Beyond AAA, or Beyond Expectations?

Pocketpair, the developer behind the wildly successful Palworld, has amassed considerable profits. This success could easily fund a "beyond AAA" title, yet CEO Takuro Mizobe has outlined a different vision for the studio's future.

Pocketpair: Embracing the Indie Spirit

Palworld's phenomenal success has generated tens of billions of yen in revenue (tens of millions of USD). Despite this windfall, Mizobe has reiterated his lack of interest in pursuing a large-scale, AAA-style project.

In a recent GameSpark interview, Mizobe explained that Palworld's development leveraged profits from previous titles, Craftopia and Overdungeon. While the current financial success could easily fuel a much larger project, he believes Pocketpair isn't yet structured to manage such an undertaking.

"A next game based on these proceeds would exceed AAA in scale, a scale we're not organizationally ready for," Mizobe stated. He prefers focusing on projects with "indie game appeal," aiming to maximize impact while maintaining a smaller team. Mizobe points to the evolving indie game landscape—boosted by improved game engines and market conditions—as a more efficient path to global success. He credits the indie community for Pocketpair's growth and intends to give back.

Expanding the Palworld Universe

Mizobe previously stated that Pocketpair won't be expanding its team or upgrading its offices. Instead, the focus is on expanding the Palworld IP into diverse mediums.

Palworld, currently in early access, has already garnered significant praise for its gameplay and consistent updates, including the recently added PvP arena and the Sakurajima island in a major update. Furthermore, Pocketpair has established Palworld Entertainment in collaboration with Sony to manage global licensing and merchandising.