Palworld' Success Overwhelms: 'Too Big for Our Studio,' But Pocketpair Open To Acquisitions

The head of Pocketpair, Takuro Mizobe, admitted feeling overwhelmed by the massive profits from their game, Palworld.

Launched in January, Palworld quickly soared to global success, boasting 25 million players and selling 15 million copies on Steam, alongside 10 million players on Xbox.

Despite the game's relatively low development cost of less than ¥1 billion ($6.7 million), it amassed "tens of billions of yen" in profit, a sum Mizobe found daunting for their small studio to manage.

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In dialogue with Bloomberg, Mizobe candidly said: "It's an amount that is too big for a studio with our size to handle."

He stressed Pocketpair's commitment to staying small, with only 55 employees, and dismissed suggestions of expanding or offering shares.

"We are and will remain a small studio," he added. "I want to make multiple small games. Big-budget triple-A games are not for us."

However, he mentioned being open to potential partnerships or acquisitions, though discussions with Microsoft haven't started yet. Additionally, he hinted at plans to bring Palworld to more platforms, possibly including PlayStation 5 and Nintendo consoles.

The CEO of Pocketpair voiced doubts about the studio's ability to replicate the immense success of Palworld, which boasted over 2 million simultaneous players at its peak, rivaling top titles on PC. However, he remains confident in the winning formula for contemporary games. Mizobe highlighted, "Games are most fun when playing with friends. A game without a multiplayer mode just doesn’t feel right in the era we live today."

Moreover, the CEO of Pocketpair expressed doubts about the studio's ability to replicate the immense success of Palworld, which boasted over 2 million simultaneous players at its peak, rivaling top titles on PC.

However, he remains confident in the winning formula for contemporary games.

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