A Decision On Palworld Going Live Service Is Looming, CEO Says

Could Palworld eventually become a live service game? That’s a question that Takuro Mizobe, CEO of developer PocketPair, is currently going back and forth on in his head.

In a recent interview with ASCII Japan, Mizobe was asked about the future of one of the biggest gaming hits of 2024. The game dubbed “Pokemon with guns” launched to immediate success, and became the second-most played game on Steam ever before Black Myth: Wukong bumped it to three.

But now, nine months after the game’s launch, there are decisions that need to be made about where to take the game. One of which is whether to take it to live service or keep it a buy-to-play title.

“To be honest, it hasn’t been decided yet,” Mizobe said. “We will of course add so-called general content. For example, we will create new maps and introduce new Pals there. We will also introduce raid bosses so that everyone can fight together, but for the future of Pal World, there are two options that are really important directions.”

Could Palworld Actually Go To Live Service?

Going to a live service game, Mizobe says, would all the studio and game to have a more stable revenue stream and likely extend the life of the game as a whole. However, he was clear that Palworld wasn’t developed with live service in mind, which leads to difficulties in turning it into one.

“[T]he most important thing is whether the players want it,” Mizobe said. “As a prelude to a live game, it needs to be a F2P (free-to-play) game. It is common for game management games to make the game F2P and add paid elements such as skins and battle passes, but Palworld is a one-time purchase game, so it is difficult to turn it into a live game from the ground up.”

Mizobe added that PocketPair is looking into how they can bring in more players to the game while being loyal to its existing player base. He said that games like PUBG and Fall Guys are two good examples of games that moved from being paid titles to free-to-play games. That said, those games “took several years to shift”, Mizobe said, adding that it’s not that easy to turn a premium game into a free-to-play title.

Do you think Palworld should go to a live service game or stay as is? Let us know in the comments or join the discussion further in the new Insider Gaming forums!

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