Pocketpair, the company behind last year’s viral game Palworld, has a new venture: publishing indie games. His first project, scheduled for release this year, will be an unnamed horror game from Surgent Studios, the developer behind 2024’s Tales of Kenzera: Zau.Palworld, jokingly called “Pokémon with guns,” as a breakout. successful last year, signing in more than 25 million players in its first few months. The company’s move into publishing comes at a tumultuous time for video games, especially small studios; Last year, Among Us developer Innersloth announced its own move to publishing to help push the project forward. The success of Palworld Pocketpair, it seems, allows them to do the same. release announcing the new division. “We think it’s a real shame, because there are so many amazing creators and ideas out there that just need a little help to become amazing games.” It’s no surprise that Pocketpair will be working with Surgent Studios, which has been struggling. looking for funding after the release of Zau The developer put the team on hiatus last year as it looked for a partner for the next Kenzera game, now known as Project Uso. Surgent made a deal with Pocketpair. apart from Uso, the founder Abubakar Salim told WIRED Unlike in Afrofuturism from Zau, it will be a horror title to introduce players to something new “We’re taking a little detour from the Tales of Kenzera universe. Salim added that the horror genre “is a space that attracts which evokes primitive emotions, immersing the audience in a reality removed from their own attacks. something deep and dark in all of us. Pocketpair and Surgent gave few details about the game in Thursday’s announcement, other than to describe it as “short and weird.” “Salim said. 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 is a concern for Surgent, Salim said the studio is not worried “We’re really excited to be able to work with the new publishing wings to bring this game to life,” he said.
