In a new report from Bloomberg, creative teams at Tencent are allegedly developing new mobile games directly influenced by Palworld.
The report cites anonymous sources, who claim that TiMi and Lightspeed are building mobile games “replete with pet companions and stylized violence”.
These upcoming games will reportedly “combine open-world, survival and crafting elements with the nurture of virtual pets”.
Fans will recognize TiMi Studio Group for developing games like Pokémon Unite and Call of Duty: Mobile. Lightspeed & Quantum Studio worked on PUBG Mobile.
Tencent is pursuing “multiple, competing projects”, so it’s unclear if TiMi or Lightspeed will be the final creative force.
Palworld was a massive success, reaching 25 million players last month. The game continues to expand, as the developers just recently teased the first Raid featuring Bellanoir.
There is also interest in releasing Palworld on other platforms later on. The game smartly tapped into edgy features and twists while Pokémon Scarlet and Violet divided fans over performance issues.
So, it’s no surprise that Tencent wants to follow in Palworld’s footsteps. Tencent’s vast resources could introduce even more fan-requested features that an indie studio would struggle to develop.
Pokémon Unite was a major hit, and possibly a good example of how TiMi Studio Group could approach a familiar genre with the developers’ own personality.
However, it’s unclear if Palworld will still have enough steam by the time Tencent’s mobile projects release for them to be surefire hits. Some players considered Palworld a simple trend, and there was a lot of discourse about its similarities to Pokémon.
Tencent did not confirm anything officially, and it has not issued an official response to Bloomberg’s report at this time.
For more of the latest Insider Gaming news, you can read about Star Wars Outlaws getting a new rating in Australia that’s equivalent to an ESRB “T”.
