Japanese indie developer Pocketpair, the creative force behind the popular monster-taming game Palworld, is officially entering the world of game publishing.  Their inaugural project is a horror game developed by Surgent Studios, the team behind the critically acclaimed Metroidvania, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU.

Pocketpair has been steadily building a reputation for innovative game design. Their early access release of Craftopia in 2020 demonstrated their technical capabilities, which were further refined with the launch of Palworld on PC and Xbox in early 2024 and subsequently on PlayStation 5 in September.

Despite facing a lawsuit from Nintendo regarding similarities between Palworld's 'Pals' and Pokémon, Pocketpair remains undeterred. The relatively small sum sought by Nintendo, approximately $65,000 USD, hasn't slowed the company's momentum.  They recently unveiled an ambitious roadmap for Palworld's continued development in early access.

Pocketpair's foray into publishing isn't entirely new. They've previously worked on Never Grave: The Witch and the Curse, a Metroidvania currently under development by Frontside 180. However, the announcement of Pocketpair Publishing on January 23rd, alongside their partnership with Surgent Studios, marks a significant step forward.

Surgent Studios, originally a film studio, made a remarkable entry into game development with Tales of Kenzera: ZAU in April 2024.  The game garnered multiple award nominations and solidified Surgent's position as a promising new developer.

Details about the upcoming horror game remain scarce. Abubakar Salim, Surgent Studios' founder and CEO, has only teased that it “will be short and weird.” It's unclear whether this project is distinct from Project Uso, Surgent's second game, revealed in October.  Inspired by Planescape: Torment, Uso is described as a single-player afro-gothic RPG with isometric graphics. The description of Uso being “darker, edgier, and more visceral” suggests it could potentially be the same project.

This collaboration with Pocketpair comes after Surgent Studios faced potential layoffs due to funding challenges. The partnership offers a positive sign for the studio's financial stability and the security of its employees working on both Uso and the new horror game, assuming they are separate projects.  Despite the critical success of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, it seemingly didn't achieve the commercial success Surgent had hoped for, leading to earlier layoffs in July 2024.