Pocket Pair CEO think it's a ‘miracle’ that Palworld exists

The coins are rolling in at Pocket Pair, as the viral sensation of "Pokemon with guns" continues to put Game Freak's long-running collect 'em all in its crosshairs. We're, of course, talking about Palworld, with this Pokemon-inspired (watch your wording here) title getting everyone talking.

Despite only being in early access and Pocket Pair's last game, Craftopia, never being fully released, Palworld is everywhere right now. With the ability to start your own slave trade, gun down Pals, and even get seduced by these sultry critters, Palworld is living up to its own hype as a more adult take on Pokemon.

Pocket Pair CEO says Palworld is a 'miracle'

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In a new interview with Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe (via PC Gamer), he explains what went into the making of Palworld and his surprise at where it is today. "No sane company would start developing a game without a budget," says Mizobe. "But Pocketpair is not a sane company." 

Before the Tokyo-based Pocket Pair started working on Palworld, the team developed a trailer. He continued, "If the response to the trailer was poor, it wouldn’t be worth making the game in the first place. That’s why we didn’t even bother making a budget to start."

Saying he originally wanted to make Palworld in just a year, Mizobe said, "I didn’t have any intention to make a major title, and I had no desire to spend years working on the same thing. But with only 10 of us on the team to start, I began to realize how impossible that would be."

Mizobe claims the company had about "two years of runway" before it would go under, but there were plenty of bumps in the road. As well as all the code being scrapped when Palworld moved from Unity to Unreal Engine 4, the game's creature designer was originally rejected from her position.

Palworld is definitely a scrappy title that has defied to odds while sticking its middle finger to its critics. In the end, Mizobe describes it as a "miracle" and "the antithesis of proper game development." Even though It's all rosy for now, Palworld continues to tread the line of controversy.

Palworld is riding a wave of success

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The future of Palworld looks like a promising one, as it continues to climb the Steam charts and blow other goliaths out of the water with its player count. While Palworld still sits below PUBG's seemingly unbeatable concurrent player count, it's more than happy in second.

Pocket Pair has promised a roadmap based on player feedback, while it's already planning on tackling a growing cheater problem ahead of its PvP update. There are the obvious Pokemon comparisons, and even though The Pokemon Company has reiterated it's watching closely, Mitzobe says he isn't worried by the threat of legal action. 

There have been allegations of stolen designs, and with more coincidences appearing in the game files, it's unclear where things go next. Either way, we bet Nintendo is fizzing at Mitzobe's laidback attitude and the fact that Palworld is a miracle that technically shouldn't exist.