Palworld developer Pocketpair just launched its own publishing business, and its first project is a horror game from Metroidvania dev and Assassin's Creed actor Abubakar Salim

Palworld developer Pocketpair has just announced a new publishing business, and with it, its first project – a mysterious horror game from Surgent Studios, the developer of last year's Metroidvania title Tales of Kenzera: ZAU.

Pocketpair Publishing says its "goal is to provide comprehensive support for game development through funding and publishing for indie developers and studios," and it sounds like this partnership with Surgent Studios is set to be the first of many. "Surgent Studios is a studio with an original approach, and Pocketpair is excited to support them to the fullest extent," Pocketpair Publishing writes. "Please look forward to future announcements for details of specific projects!"

Surgent Studios' founder Abubakar Salim – creative director of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU and a British actor who starred as Bayek in Assassin's Creed Origins and Alyn in House of the Dragon – has also been sharing the news. He says: "This is the energy I want to see driving games in 2025 – developers lifting each other up, creating together, and pushing the industry forward.

"Massive love to the Pocketpair team! It's an incredible honor to be the first partnership announced with Pocketpair Publishing. We've been cooking up something fun, and I can't wait to share it with you all. Stay tuned!"

This is the energy I want to see driving games in 2025—developers lifting each other up, creating together, and pushing the industry forward.Massive love to the Pocketpair team! It’s an incredible honor to be the first partnership announced with @PocketpairPBLSH We’ve been… https://t.co/DM8Z7Lp4oKJanuary 23, 2025

Meanwhile, Palworld's John 'Bucky' Buckley shares the reveal of Pocketpair Publishing with an announcement of his new role as communications director and publishing manager at Pocketpair. He teases: "BIG things coming… we've been working on this for so long! Stay tuned for MORE!"

As for the horror game itself, it doesn't seem like we'll have too long to wait to see what it's all about. In a news post on the Pocketpair website, it's revealed that it's "scheduled to release in 2025." For now, no synopsis, gameplay, or even name has been shared, but if it stays on track to launch this year, more news can't be too far away.

In the meantime, be sure to check out our roundup of new games releasing this year and beyond.

I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.