Palworld: Redefining Gaming Beyond AAA

Palworld's staggering financial success has sparked curiosity about whether developer Pocketpair could aim for "beyond AAA" status with their next project. However, CEO Takuro Mizobe has clarified a different path the studio intends to take. Dive in to discover his perspective on the studio's future direction.

Palworld Profits Could Make Pocketpair Go 'Beyond AAA' If They Wanted

Pocketpair Interested in Indie Games and Giving Back to Community

The creature-catching survival game, Palworld, has achieved phenomenal success for Pocketpair, amassing profits that could theoretically fund a game surpassing traditional "AAA" standards. Yet, Pocketpair's CEO, Takuro Mizobe, has consistently voiced a preference for steering clear of such ambitions.

In a recent GameSpark interview, Mizobe revealed that Palworld's earnings are in the "tens of billions of yen," translating to roughly 68.57 million USD for 10 billion yen. Despite the significant financial influx, Mizobe expressed concerns about the studio's readiness to manage a project of that magnitude.

Palworld itself was funded through the revenues of Pocketpair's earlier titles, Craftopia and Overdungeon. However, with the current windfall, Mizobe opted against immediately channeling these funds into an even larger project, citing the studio's current organizational maturity.

"If we were to develop our next game based on these proceeds, as we have done in the past, not only would the scale go beyond AAA, but we wouldn’t be able to keep up with this in terms of our organization’s maturity, or better put, we aren’t structured for something like that at all," Mizobe explained. He further emphasized his preference for smaller, "indie" projects that he finds "interesting."

Pocketpair is keen on exploring the limits of what they can achieve while maintaining an indie-scale operation. Mizobe highlighted the challenges of the AAA market, where developing a successful title with a large team is increasingly tough. In contrast, the indie scene is thriving, thanks to "improved game engines and industry conditions," allowing for globally successful games without massive teams. Mizobe credits much of Pocketpair's success to the indie community and expresses a desire to contribute back to it.

Palworld to Expand to 'Different Mediums'

Earlier this year, Mizobe also stated that Pocketpair is not interested in expanding its team or upgrading to more lavish offices, despite the incoming funds. Instead, the focus will be on diversifying the Palworld IP by exploring other mediums.

Palworld, still in early access, has garnered praise from fans for its engaging gameplay and the frequent updates since its launch. Notable updates include the much-awaited PvP arena mode and a new island introduced in the Sakurajima major update. Additionally, Pocketpair has established Palworld Entertainment in partnership with Sony to manage global licensing and merchandising activities related to Palworld beyond the game itself.