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 beyond gaming into merchandise, music, and other products. This business agreement led some fans to mistakenly believe it signaled an impending acquisition, particularly following rumors earlier in the year that Pocketpair was in discussions with Microsoft about a potential buyout.

Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe later debunked the acquisition rumors, but the speculation persisted, 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.

So, is an acquisition of Pocketpair on the cards? The decision lies with Mizobe, but according to communications director and publishing manager John 'Bucky' Buckley, whom I interviewed at last month's Game Developers Conference, the likelihood of Pocketpair being acquired is extremely low.

"Our CEO would never allow it," Buckley emphasized. "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, "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 spoke about the potential for Palworld to come to the Nintendo Switch 2, the studio's reaction to the game being dubbed "Pokemon with guns," and more in our comprehensive interview, which you can read in full right here.