"No, I don't think Palworld was snubbed": Palworld community lead responds to Game Awards backlash, says "Not everything is a conspiracy"

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"Stop being so over dramatic"

Palworld screenshot showing a green dinosaur-like creature with a red mushroom cap atop its head sitting in a wooden hot tub
(Image credit: Pocketpair)

Despite Nintendo's lawsuit, it's no secret that Palworld has seen a height of success that few creature collectors aside from Pokemon do - but global community manager John "Bucky" Buckley doesn't think that means Pocketpair had a deserved nomination stolen from its game or that it was "snubbed" at this year's Game Awards.

Speaking in a recent thread, Buck addresses the rumors from players alleging that Palworld should've been nominated. "No, I don’t think Palworld was snubbed," he writes. "Twitter has become such a banterless place. Stop being so overdramatic gamers. Not everything is a conspiracy." He then jokes that while Palworld may not have been "snubbed," that doesn't mean other games weren't - like Satisfactory, for instance.

"That being said…Satisfactory was 1000% snubbed," jests the community lead, "and I’ll be voicing that opinion ad nauseam at The Game Awards in person." Amusingly, Satisfactory's own community manager and programmer Snutt Treptow has left a comment under Bucky's post since, writing that "the award was all the friends we made along the way!" In response, Bucky leaves an emoji depicting eyes and says "So true…but also…"

Other replies are just as humorous, offering a breath of fresh air amid the conspiracies that Bucky was originally addressing himself. "I talked to every judge and said 'Don't nominate Palworld or else' and then I pounded my fist into my palm to show them what 'or else' meant," reads one from Kinda Funny's Greg Miller. Overall, it's a wholesome thread in my opinion - stemming from a level-headed approach to quite a heavy topic, too.

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Anna Koselke
Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.