Palworld developer Pocketpair has made a baffling move by launching its own publishing wing, Pocketpair Publishing, with its first project being a partnership with none other than Surgent Studios, the developers behind the infamous commercial failure, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU.
According to the announcement, Pocketpair Publishing intends to support indie developers with a “hands-off” approach, supposedly to allow creative freedom. However, their decision to back Surgent Studios, a studio that imploded shortly after its first and only game bombed raises serious concerns.
For those unaware, Surgent Studios’ founder, Abubakar Salim, has deep ties to the notorious progressive consultancy group Sweet Baby Inc., a company infamous for injecting forced political messaging into video games under the guise of “authentic representation.” Sweet Baby Inc. has already been implicated in multiple industry disasters, including the failures of Forspoken, Saints Row (2022), and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Surgent Studios’ first game, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, was published by EA, received almost no marketing, and peaked at a pitiful 287 concurrent players on Steam. The game’s lackluster performance led to layoffs and the studio essentially shutting down, only to later announce it was going on “hiatus” in a desperate plea for funding.
Instead of acknowledging the game’s mediocrity and failure, Salim attempted to blame racism for its poor reception, echoing Anita Sarkeesian’s well-worn victim narrative.
Now, just months later, Surgent Studios has somehow found a new lifeline through Pocketpair, despite its glaring failures. Their next project, a “mystery horror game,” is set for release in 2025, indicating that there was no real hiatus at all for Salim.
He claims that the game was inspired by a trend in the entertainment industry, but given his previous rhetoric and associations, it’s hard to imagine anything other than another thinly veiled attempt at pushing ideological messaging.
Salim has collaborative connections with Sweet Baby Inc. co-founders Kim Belair and David Bedard through a company known as Bebe Sucre LTD, which also featured the script coordinator for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Amy-Leigh Shaw.
Pocketpair’s enthusiasm for this collaboration is puzzling, to say the least. In their official statement, they claim to respect the autonomy of developers and aim to help them realize their vision. But does that mean they are willingly embracing the same corporate ESG-backed, DEI-infested narratives that have dragged down so many other studios?
Considering Palworld’s immense success was built on pure appeal rather than ideological pandering, this decision seems like a tone-deaf shift in direction. Gamers are right to question why Pocketpair, a company that has unexpectedly thrived by focusing on fun and innovation, would willingly align itself with a failed studio connected to one of the most controversial consultancy groups in the industry.
Instead of backing a developer with a proven track record, Pocketpair has chosen to bankroll Surgent Studios, an outfit that has already squandered their one and only major publishing deal. The gaming community will be watching closely to see if Pocketpair Publishing ends up being just another vehicle for Sweet Baby Inc.’s destructive influence resulting in a financial blowback towards the small Japanese outfit who unexpectedly struck it rich with Palworld.
At a time when gamers are increasingly wary of forced diversity initiatives and corporate meddling, Pocketpair’s decision to back Surgent Studios looks less like a bold new venture and more like a warning sign.
