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Pocketpair, the company behind last year’s viral game Palworld, has a new venture: publishing indie games. Its first project, scheduled for release later this year, will be an as-yet-unnamed horror game from Surgent Studios, the developer behind 2024’s Tales of Kenzera: Zau.
Palworld, jokingly referred to as “Pokémon with guns,” was a breakout success last year, drawing in more than 25 million players in its first few months. The company’s step into publishing comes at a turbulent time for video games, especially smaller studios; last year, Among Us developer Innersloth announced its own move into publishing to help push projects forward. Pocketpair’s Palworld success, it seems, is allowing them to do the same.
“As the games industry continues to grow, more and more games find themselves struggling to get funded or greenlit,” John Buckley, head of Pocketpair Publishing, said in a press release announcing the new division. “We think this is a real shame, because there are so many incredible creators and ideas out there that just need a little help to become incredible games.”
It’s no surprise, then, that Pocketpair would work with Surgent Studios, which has struggled to find funding following the release of Zau. The developer put its team on hiatus last year as it sought a partner for its next Kenzera game, currently known as Project Uso.
Surgent’s deal with Pocketpair is separate from Uso, founder Abubakar Salim tells WIRED. Unlike the Afrofuturism of Zau, it’ll be a horror title meant to introduce players to something new. “We’re taking a little detour from the Tales of Kenzera universe,” Salim says.
Salim adds that the horror genre “is a fascinating space that taps into primal emotions, immersing audiences in a reality that’s removed from their own yet strikes something deep and dark within us all.” Pocketpair and Surgent gave few details about the game in Thursday’s announcement, other than to describe it as “short and weird.”
“The world is so raw right now, and it feels natural to craft an experience that reflects and feeds off that intensity,” Salim says.
Pocketpair Publishing has not announced any other future projects. The company has been embroiled in legal drama since last year, when Nintendo filed a lawsuit in Tokyo claiming Palworld infringed on its copyright. Nintendo did not respond to a request for comment. When asked if the lawsuit was of any concern to Surgent, Salim says the studio isn’t worried. “We’re really excited to be working with their new publishing wing to bring this game to life,” he says.
