Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, the controversial hit game that launched earlier this year and turned everyone into a lawyer overnight, has announced a joint venture with Sony Music and Aniplex aimed at expanding the game’s reach. How? At least in part by selling product.
Many initially expected some sort of legal intervention from Nintendo after Palworld was accused of copying some of its creature models from well-known Pokemon, but that hasn’t been the case. At least not yet.
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So it’s not surprising to see Pocketpair start to really try to capitalize on the potential of gaming to infiltrate every aspect of our lives by distributing plushies and other trinkets, something we imagine has been happening in various corners of the internet in a less formal way for a while. Remember the weird Grizzbolt and Depresso morphing suits? Some of those seem to have disappeared since February.
Now, as announced in a press release, Pocketpair has joined forces with Sony Music Entertainment and its subsidiary Aniplex (known for its involvement in the production and distribution of anime series such as Fullmetal Alchemist and Gurren Lagann) to form a joint venture called Palworld Entertainment Inc. The new company “will be responsible for expanding the scope and commercialization of the intellectual property, including global licensing and merchandising activities related to Palworld (excluding interactive games).”
So, basically, the company sells merchandise based on Palworld content and looks for opportunities to promote the game, making it an even bigger pop culture juggernaut. For example, the company’s efforts begin with “developing exclusive merchandise based on the game,” which will go on sale first at China’s Bilibili World 2024 conference later this week, and then be available for pre-order through Aniplex’s online storefront.
We’re crossing our fingers that Pocketpair will take the music part more seriously so that they can achieve the effect that many of the shots of friends in the official trailer and the game screenshots look like they would make for a cool album cover (see the featured image in this article), but who knows if we’ll get an EP from MC Lamball.
In case you missed it, Palworld’s big Sakurajima update is set to launch on June 27, bringing with it new locations, new factions, and new bosses.
