The immense success of Palworld has undoubtedly been the biggest surprise of 2024 so far, and it certainly helps from a Microsoft perspective that it's become one of the best Xbox exclusives of recent times. It's also led to a lot of speculation in recent months about whether Xbox could be interested in acquiring the game's developer.
Well, the CEO of Pockerpair (Takuro Mizobe) spoke to Bloomberg recently about this very topic, and revealed that although talks haven't been had with Microsoft, the company would potentially be open to an acquisition or partnership. It's not just Microsoft though - it sounds like Pocketpair would consider any kind of offer if it was right.
The key thing is that the team wants to remain a small studio rather than making huge AAA games:
"We are and will remain a small studio. I want to make multiple small games. Big-budget triple-A games are not for us."
Interestingly, it was mentioned during the interview that Pocketpair is working on bringing Palworld to more platforms beyond Xbox and PC, so it sounds likely we could see it on PlayStation and maybe even Nintendo Switch before long.
So the question is, would Microsoft want to acquire the developer behind Palworld? A lot of it probably depends on whether the franchise has long-term potential in the company's eyes, and at the moment that still seems hard to judge.
Should Microsoft be Interested In Your Opinion? (365 votes)
- Definitely! This would be a great acquisition!
- It might work out well, yeah
- Possibly? Still too early to say
- I don't think it'd be a good idea to be honest
- Stay away! This isn't worth spending huge money on!
Do you think Microsoft should look into acquiring the Palworld developer? Tell us down in the comments below.
[source bloomberg.com]
Comments 24
I doubt Microsoft would consider it. Aside from Rare and DoubleFine when you look at the studios they've acquired it's clear they're mostly only interested in shooters and western rpgs. Hell they had Toys For Bob and then just let them go.
No just concentrate on getting new games made now and Activision games on gamepass and when on the name of jesus are we getting a new gears game?
They currently fly a little too close to the sun for a major publisher. They would probably need to have a little more originality in any IP they work on.
I don’t think they are that good of a dev to be worth MS pursuing.
Plus really they have plenty of studios to smash games out
Palworld is overrated, but eh, why not have MS own it? Make a Viva Pinata crossover or something like that.
Enough with the acquisitions sheesh. Get some games out
@LX_FENIX I don't know. It is a Japanese Studio who is willing to be purchased & Phil did say they want to expand in the region. So could happen.
Well, the dev might not be totally out of the woods from a Nintendo lawsuit so not sure I’d want that risk in my pocket.
@PsBoxSwitchOwner You and everyone else seem to be thinking of the studio and not the IP.
Say MS buys the dev studio + the rights to Palworld - If Palworld can really rock their 1.0 release and have Microsoft handle merch, they could recoup a multi-million dollar investment within a year or two.
That is some insane earning potential!
@somnambulance holy cow, I always thought the open world Pokémon game is what I wanted but an open world Viva Pinata is now top of that list.
@Boogaloo_Jenkins the IP is already starting to go quiet, noise around it is dying down and it’s getting to its natural state now. (As happens with all live service after initial hype).
There is little merchandise potential for what is essentially pound shop Pokémon. And would MS risk going near it when it flies so close to copyright?
I liked Palworld but I don't think it has the legs to last like something like a Minecraft or a Fortnite.
It's still a sensible acquisition but if I was Microsoft, I'd find a way to do something with Balatro and fast.
It needs to be on Gamepass.
Considering these guys pretty much abandoned their last game, no.
The main attraction of Palworld is it's "Ark with Pokemon" hook. Unless MS is interested in making fakemon then it's better to just nab their games for gamepass.
Not sure this would be worth the current risk. Nintendo can take their time with lawsuits, as shown with how long it took with the Switch Emu that was recently settled. So I'm not convinced nothing will come of the Pokémon v Palworld potential case that looms in the background.
@PsBoxSwitchOwner Yep that's my thoughts exactly, just stick with the teams they have and get some games out
In my opinion Microsoft should be using their first-party studios to develop genres that fall short among third-party releases to round out their console's appeal, and since there aren't too many Pokemon-like games being released this is an acquisition that could make sense... but I'd argue there are other genres that are both more popular and more lacking on Xbox consoles as well, so it certainly wouldn't be a first-choice.
No not yet. MS needs to fix their strategy first, they are all over the place with wat they want.
Would have to ask,
Why would it make it a great acquisition?
What other games have they made?
What other games can they make?
Palworld might be popular, but you shouldn't buy a studio just because of how popular 1 game is. And just because 1 game is popular, doesn't mean it's good. I've not really checked out this game, but I know I won't like it.
They should buy it and then give Nintendo a free port to minimize their chance of future success.
@CutchuSlow
Why not? MS bought Mojang for one game, Minecraft, and it’s been one of their most successful acquisitions to date.
@RIghteousNixon Minecraft was a unique IP though that MS could market and capitalise on. Very different to Palworld where the interest and media is largely driven by its satire of the Pokemon IP which isn’t going to be something MS is really going to sell as its own thing, at least not without risk of going through courts. Over time they can evolve the game, but the further they move away from Pokemon to make the game safer to market, the more they might lose interest in those that saw that as a draw.
When MS purchased Minecraft the game was also 3 years old at the time, rather than 3 months. In all likelihood we’ll have moved on from Palworld in 6 months, let alone 3 years.
Worth noting the fact Nintendo hasn’t sued yet isn’t a sign that they won’t. They went after Yuzu well after the high profile leaks and reported promotion of piracy by the team through discord channels etc around Tears of the Kingdom leaks. I think that will be a concern for anyone acquiring the studio, especially if they’re hopping to expand on the game. At some point Nintendo may test whether the title is satire or IP infringement. Purchase and ownership by a larger company may also make suing more appealing, as they have the money to actually pay out.
@Smigit
It doesn’t matter that Palworld is a satire of Pokémon. It’s completely 100% irrelevant. Pokémon fans have wanted a game like this for a LONG time and we finally got a company that went out and gave it to people and it could wind up being hugely successful. That is the only criteria needed for an acquisition of a studio for a single IP to make sense and be profitable. It doesn’t have to be like Minecraft in any way. I just used Minecaft as an example of a studio acquired for a single game. Yes Minecraft was much bigger, but so was the price tag on the studio. This studio and Palworld would be FAR FAR cheaper.
And Nintendo can’t do Jack. The game already passed its legal reviews and there are laws in the EU, US, Canada etc. that protect parodies. There is a very good reason why Nintendo hasn’t done anything to date, including signal that they planned to do something, because they have no legs to stand on in regards to Palworld violating Pokémon copyrights. You can bet your ass that if Nintendo thought they had a chance in court, they would have already filed a motion to cease and desist. They haven’t because once again they know they have no case at all. Nintendo isn’t just sitting around waiting for the right moment to file a case. The right moment was literally the minute the game released if you had any intention of filing a case at all. No lawsuits are coming and if they do, Nintendo doesn’t stand a chance in hell at winning them.
Given MS’s focus on Game Pass, a developer like this creating live service games would be a great acquisition for MS, even with just this one IP.
After Bethesda, Microsoft is looking to buy mobile developers, like ABK. This is not an acquisition that would be on their radar, I don't believe they are "pushing" in the console space any longer sadly. Would love to be proven wrong.
I wouldn’t mind the acquisition, I don’t be understanding this make more games conversation. Just bought BG3 in December Tekken in January and dragons dogma this week. A few friends bought rebirth last month. What’s not to play out here?
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