Last summer, Palworld developer Pocketpair entered into a significant business agreement with Sony Music Entertainment. This collaboration aims to expand the Palworld universe beyond gaming into merchandise, music, and other products. Despite the excitement around this deal, some fans misinterpreted it as a precursor to an acquisition, fueled by earlier rumors that Pocketpair was negotiating with Microsoft for such a move.

However, Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe clarified that no acquisition was in the works at that time, though the speculation sparked considerable discussion among fans. The interest in Pocketpair's potential acquisition has continued, particularly given Microsoft's aggressive acquisition strategy within the AA gaming industry and their interest in Japanese developers, as well as Sony's counter-moves in the market.

So, is an acquisition on the cards for Pocketpair? The decision ultimately rests with Mizobe. At the recent Game Developers Conference, communications director and publishing manager John 'Bucky' Buckley expressed a strong belief that an acquisition is highly unlikely. He stated emphatically, "Our CEO would never allow it. 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's conviction was clear, and he added, "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."

In our interview, Buckley also touched on the possibility of Palworld coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, the studio's response to the game being dubbed "Pokemon with guns," and more. You can dive deeper into these topics in our full discussion linked here.