Pocketpair expands beyond Palworld with new publishing venture
The Japanese studio behind Palworld takes on publishing duties for Surgent Studios’ mysterious horror title.
Pocketpair, the Japanese developer known for the massively successful Palworld, has announced its expansion into game publishing with a new horror project from Surgent Studios. This marks a significant step for the company, which first gained recognition with Craftopia in 2020 before achieving widespread success with Palworld’s release on PC and Xbox in early 2024, followed by its PlayStation 5 debut in September.
The company’s growth continues despite facing legal challenges, including a recent lawsuit from Nintendo regarding alleged similarities between Palworld’s creatures and Pokemon characters. The lawsuit seeks approximately $65,000 USD in damages, though this hasn’t deterred Pocketpair from pursuing its expansion plans and maintaining an ambitious roadmap for Palworld’s ongoing early access development.
While Pocketpair has previously ventured into publishing with Never Grave: The Witch and the Curse, a Metroidvania title currently in development by Frontside 180, the January 23 announcement officially establishes Pocketpair Publishing. Their first major publishing project partners them with Surgent Studios, a film studio that successfully transitioned into gaming with Tales of Kenzera: ZAU in April 2024, earning multiple award nominations.
Surgent Studios’ Horror Project Takes Shape Under New Partnership
Details about the upcoming horror title remain scarce, with studio founder and CEO Abubakar Salim only revealing that it will be “short and weird.” Questions remain about whether this project is separate from Project Uso, Surgent’s previously announced afro-gothic RPG revealed in October. Project Uso was described as having a darker and more visceral approach, drawing inspiration from the 1999 classic Planescape: Torment.
The collaboration comes at a crucial time for Surgent Studios, which recently faced potential staff reductions while seeking project funding. While Tales of Kenzera: ZAU received critical acclaim as one of 2024’s standout Metroidvanias, the studio experienced layoffs in July 2024 due to lower-than-expected sales figures. This partnership with Pocketpair could provide the financial stability needed to support both the horror game’s development and other ongoing projects.