With a meteoric rise, Palworld, the brainchild of Pocketpair, has taken the gaming world by storm. Launched in January, the game has quickly become a global phenomenon, attracting a staggering 25 million players and selling 15 million copies on Steam, with an additional 10 million players on Xbox.
Despite its humble development cost of less than ¥1 billion ($6.7 million), Palworld has generated “tens of billions of yen” in profit, a sum that has left the studio’s head, Takuro Mizobe, grappling with the enormity of success.
In a recent conversation with Bloomberg, Mizobe confessed, “It’s an amount that is too big for a studio of our size to manage.”
Pocketpair, committed to remaining modest with its workforce of 55 employees, has no intentions of expanding or offering shares to the public. Mizobe emphasized, “We are and will remain a small studio. I want to create multiple small games. Big-budget triple-A games are not in our plans.”
However, Mizobe did express openness to potential collaborations or acquisitions in the future, although discussions with Microsoft have yet to commence. There are also hints of Palworld branching out to other platforms, with the possibility of releases on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo consoles.
The remarkable success of Palworld, peaking at over 2 million simultaneous players, has led to doubts within Pocketpair about replicating such triumphs in the future. Despite this uncertainty, Mizobe maintains faith in the essence of modern gaming, stating, “Games truly shine when enjoyed with friends. In today’s world, a game lacking a multiplayer feature just doesn’t feel complete.”
The road ahead may present challenges for Pocketpair, but with a winning formula for contemporary games, the studio remains optimistic about its future endeavors.
As the gaming industry continues to evolve, only time will tell how Pocketpair navigates the ever-changing landscape and sustains the legacy of Palworld.