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  1. Games
  2. Survival Games
  3. Palworld

Palworld lead reminds players the game "is 100% owned, 100% funded, 100% invested and 100% controlled by us, Pocketpair" as some question Sony business deal: "I'm crashing out over this fr fr"

News
By Ashley Bardhan
Published 18 September 2025

Bucky is in distress

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Palworld
(Image credit: Pocket Pair)
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The message Palworld communications director and publishing manager John 'Bucky' Buckley wants to spread across the world is not one of peace, necessarily, but it seems just as dire to him as something like that. So, for his sake, consider it: Palworld developer Pocketpair owns the monster-taming game all by itself.

Actually, not only is Palworld "100% owned" by Pocketpair, Bucky writes in a Twitter post, but also, the game is "100% funded, 100% invested and 100% controlled by us, Pocketpair."

"They. Literally. Have. Zero. Authority," Bucky says in response to a screenshot he appears to have taken of a Palworld player claiming Sony has power over the game. In 2024, Pocketpair scribbled a business deal with the PlayStation creator "to expand and develop new businesses associated with the hit game," according to a press release issued at the time. In other words, the two companies would join forces to produce merchandise, music, and generally make superstars out of Palworld's little monsters.

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Bucky seems aggrieved by the idea that Pocketpair's joint venture with Sony could be anything more than that, writing in the same tweet that "I'm really falling for the bait hard these days." He follows up in another post, writing, "I'm crashing out over this fr fr."

"SME and Aniplex are a part of the joint venture 'Palworld Entertainment,'" he continues to clarify. "At the moment, they are making merch and stuff. They are not above Pocketpair, nor do they have any control of the IP. We control our IP 100%." OK, Bucky, we believe you!

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  • Palworld pal Herbil holds up a coin in official animated short Finders Keepers. "A lot of these things are actually not made by us," Palworld lead explains following card game launch and MMO reveal
  • Palworld 1.0 trailer screenshot shows a girl with ginger hair, riding on the back of a pal. Palworld lead promises "you will always be able to play" Pocketpair's survival game
  • Palworld 1.0 launch trailer screenshot shows a Pal tamer petting a smiling Lamball. Palworld 1.0 spurred more "manufactured dramas," says lead – but don't let that put you off

Palworld dev pushes back on Early Access criticisms, points to examples like Baldur's Gate 3 and Satisfactory: "Games only get better when the players are involved."

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CATEGORIES
PC Gaming Xbox Series X PS5 Xbox One Platforms Xbox PlayStation
Ashley Bardhan
Ashley Bardhan
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Ashley is a Senior Writer at GamesRadar+. She's been a staff writer at Kotaku and Inverse, too, and she's written freelance pieces about horror and women in games for sites like Rolling Stone, Vulture, IGN, and Polygon. When she's not covering gaming news, she's usually working on expanding her doll collection while watching Saw movies one through 11.

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Palworld pal Herbil holds up a coin in official animated short Finders Keepers.
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