Palworld developer PocketPair is partnering with Sony Music Entertainment Japan and the latter's subsidiary, Aniplex, for a joint venture to establish Palworld Entertainment.
The new joint venture will be responsible for developing the reach of the intellectual property as well as expanding commercial business endeavors. This would include the global licensing and merchandising activities that are associated with Palworld, outside of the game.
PocketPair's New Joint Venture
(Photo : Pocketpair / Screenshot taken from Steam)
The announcement of the new joint venture was made in a joint release by all three companies. The game in question, Palworld, is a multiplayer open-world survival game that was created, produced, and published by PocketPair.
The game immediately became a breakout hit when it first launched earlier this year with more than 25 million players diving into it only one month after it was released. Palworld is currently available on PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and via Xbox Game Pass.
Palworld seemingly integrates elements of battle, monster-capturing, training, and base-building into one big package. Players will also gain access to a variety of weapons, including classic bows and spears to modern rifles and even rocket launchers, according to Gematsu.
The gameplay also involves locating and capturing Pals, the game's signature monsters, who can aid players in the construction and expansion of their base. They are also able to become powerful allies who will fight in battles with you.
The new joint venture's efforts will start with the development of exclusive merchandise based on Palworld. These will debut and sell at the PocketPair booth during Bilibili World 2024 which will begin on Friday, July 12, 204, and will be held in Shanghai, China.
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The merchandise will also be available for pre-order at Aniplex and its subsidiaries, Aniplex of America and Aniplex Shanghai, and e-commerce sites with more information at a later date.
Despite the success of the game, there have been many people who criticized it for its similarities to Nintendo's Pokemon franchise. This was due to many of the Pals in PocketPair's game looking very much like some Pokemon, said AnimeNewsNetwork.
Promoting the Palworld Intellectual Property
Shortly after Palworld was released, the Pokemon Company issued a statement saying that it was going to launch an investigation into the matter. But so far, there have been no legal issues that have arrived on PocketPair's doorstep.
The recent joint venture announcement seems to be an initiative that is primarily focused on merchandising and cross-media promotion of the Palworld intellectual property. However, it seems that PocketPair will work with the Sony Group to promote new developments for their game.
The statement added that players who enjoy Palworld should look forward to the business development of the new joint venture. It said that it would lead to the ongoing development of PocketPair's monster-capturing title.
The news comes as a community manager for recently sparked rumors that the game was coming to PlayStation devices following a cryptic post.
It featured the game's title surrounded by colored hearts that seem to reference the currently available platforms but then added blue for the PlayStation, according to Press Start.
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