Last year, Pocketpair’s mons game Palworld quickly became one of the biggest breakout hits. However, it became highly controversial for its legal battle with Pokemon’s creators, Nintendo and Game Freak. However, that did not stop this rising company from advancing their plans to establish themselves in the industry. Pocketpair recently announced they would start publishing games, beginning with the next horror game from Surgent Studios, the creators of Tales of Kenzera. Here is a breakdown of why fans of both franchises should care.

Pocketpair Begins Publishing

According to IGN, Palworld’s Japanese developer Pocketpair announced its plans to move into video game publishing. They did this to support a horror game from Surgent Studios, which rose to fame with their 2024 Metroidvania, Tales of Kenzera: Zau. Immediately, they began accepting pitches and emphasized that they would not use executive meddling over projects. As they were once an independent studio, this is a huge advancement for their business.

Surgent’s CEO Abubakar Salim described this upcoming game as based on a “pattern” he saw in the entertainment industry and said it would be “short and weird.” This is a particularly enticing description, given that today’s market is overflowing with games that are too long and take too few risks. Furthermore, they confirmed the upcoming title was separate from their upcoming RPG, “Project Uso.”

Last year, Palworld became a breakout hit. The game featured Pokémon–like creatures in a Breath of the Wild-inspired world. The game was notorious for having its cute mascots use firearms in battle. However, they began a lengthy legal battle with Nintendo over the similarity to their monster-collecting franchise. Despite the controversies surrounding Palworld, the game had outstanding sales, with tens of millions of copies sold on PC.

Kenzera and Surgent

For those unaware, Tales of Kenzera: Zau was last year’s breakout hit from Surgent Studios, which EA published. The game was a Metroidvania heavily influenced by African folklore and cultures. It was a critical and commercial success. Interestingly, the studio’s CEO is Abubakar Salim, who played Bayek of Siwa in Assassin’s Creed Origins and Alyn of Hull in House of the Dragon. He even voiced the lead in Kenzera, showing devotion to these projects.

However, as with most developers nowadays, Surgent was hit with a wave of layoffs in July, according to the main article. This was at least understandable, given that Surgent was a smaller studio. Fortunately, Pocketpair stepped in to give them a second chance at creating classics. They could become a household name with two new games coming from them.

A Shifting Market

In many ways, Pocketpair’s move to publishing could mark a new era for games, especially with its emphasis on creative freedom. Recently, many major publishers have been consolidating under smaller banners, such as with Microsoft’s purchase of EA. On the other hand, many major developers, such as Ubisoft, have seen a sharp decline in sales and game reception, with many criticizing their repetitive nature. Therefore, an indie studio that is rising to publish original games appears to be what gamers need.

As for the original legal battle over Palworld, Nintendo is infamous for its strict copyright rules, often getting many content creators in trouble. Their current legal battle with Pocketpair arose due to its similarities with the juggernaut Pokémon franchise. It should be noted that they are far from the only “mons” games out there, as Digimon and Shin Megami Tensei have been around for decades.

Conclusion

Given Studio Surgent’s success with Tales of Kenzera: Zau, one can see why Pocketpair would trust them as a rising developer. Despite Palworld’s controversies, gamers appreciated its original take on the “mons” genre. Furthermore, the company’s move into publishing will give rising developers many opportunities to create original stories. Massive layoffs and corporate buyouts have plagued the gaming industry, often harming gamers and creators. Therefore, both studios uniting to create their path forward will hopefully set an example for many others.