(Photo : PocketPair / Screenshot taken from Steam)
The developer of the highly successful open world, monster-taming game "Palworld," PocketPair, is delving into publishing to help "Tales of Kenzera: Zau" dev Surgent Studios on a new project.
The development comes as the supposed "Pokemon" look-alike won the hearts of many players across the video game industry when it was released on Jan. 19, 2024. "Palworld" made headlines after it sold more than 15 million copies in its first month on PC via Steam.
PocketPair's Publishing Label
The developer is now working to expand its reach and is set to establish PocketPair Publishing. In a press release, the company said that the publishing label will provide comprehensive support for game development through funding, development assistance, and publishing for indie game developers and small studios.
Alongside the announcement, it was revealed that the new publishing label will work with Surgent Studios on a horror game that is set to come out sometime this year. The latter was originally founded by video game voice performer and on-screen actor Abubakar Salim, according to The Verge.
Following the studio's release of "Tales of Kenzera: Zau," it was forced to furlough its games division because of a lack of funding. This was an unfortunately common development for video game studios over the past two years.
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The indie game space has also been affected by the effects of the layoff pandemic that has been plaguing the games industry for quite some time now. Major publishers are the ones that typically fund smaller studios and they have recently started to slow down cash flow.
An Upcoming Horror Game
Salim said that they noticed a pattern in the entertainment industry and that PocketPair has given them a chance to make a new game. He added that the two companies are fully aware that they are taking risks, IGN said.
The Surgent Studios CEO noted that the new project is going to be short and weird, but Salim believes that players will be interested in what they have to say. He noted that they are still looking to have more projects set in the "Tales of Kenzera" universe in the future.
PocketPair Publishing said that Surgent Studios is a developer that has an original approach. It noted that it was excited to support the company to the fullest extent possible. It hopes that fans will look forward to future announcements for details of specific projects.
Salim said that the latest collaboration is the kind of energy that he wants to see this year. This is that video game developers continue to lift each other up, creating projects together and pushing the industry forward as one, according to Games Radar.
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