{"id":37032,"date":"2024-09-13T12:58:12","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T03:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=37032"},"modified":"2024-09-15T09:51:06","modified_gmt":"2024-09-15T00:51:06","slug":"palworld-faces-the-difficult-choice-of-whether-to-become-a-live-service-game-or-stay-buy-to-play-pocketpairs-ceo-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/palworld-faces-the-difficult-choice-of-whether-to-become-a-live-service-game-or-stay-buy-to-play-pocketpairs-ceo-says\/","title":{"rendered":"(UPDATE) Palworld faces the difficult choice of whether to become a live-service game or stay buy-to-play, PocketPair\u2019s CEO says\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Update (September 15, 2024 9:45 JST): <\/strong>PocketPair has issued the below statement, letting players know that Palworld will not be switching to the F2P or GaaS business model. The developer has considered this choice in the past, but has ultimately decided against it, meaning that the game will remain buy-to-play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Regarding the Future of Palworld<br><br>TL;DR &#8211; We are not changing our game&#39;s business model, it will remain buy-to-play and not f2p or GaaS.<br><br>Recently, an article was published in which we discussed the possible future direction of Palworld and ideas for continuing the game for a\u2026<\/p>&mdash; Palworld (@Palworld_EN) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Palworld_EN\/status\/1834947171944485224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 14, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Since its viral early access launch in January this year, <strong>Palworld <\/strong>has kept evolving though various changes and additions, the biggest of which have been the Sakurajima update and the introduction of a highly chaotic and entertaining PvP arena. But Palworld still has more growth ahead of it, and the direction in which PocketPair decides to steer this growth will be vital for the game\u2019s future. The developer\u2019s CEO Takuro Mizobe spoke on the topic in an interview recently published by <a href=\"https:\/\/ascii.jp\/elem\/000\/004\/220\/4220741\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ASCII Japan.<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When asked about future developments planned for Palworld, Mizobe comments, \u201cTo be honest, things aren\u2019t decided yet.\u201d While there\u2019s no question about PocketPair continuing to build upon the game\u2019s content with new maps, Pals and raid bosses, the developers will need to make a crucial decision between two business models, according to the CEO.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1165\" height=\"653\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1165px) 100vw, 1165px\" src=\"http:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/20240702-33310.jpg\" alt=\"Palworld Sakurajima update\" class=\"wp-image-33314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/20240702-33310.jpg 1165w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/20240702-33310-380x213.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/20240702-33310-768x430.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Namely, Pocketpair must choose whether to complete Palworld as a buy-to-play game, or change it into a live-service game. \u201cWhen you think about it from a business perspective, making (Palworld) a live-service game would extend its lifespan and make it more stable in terms of profitability. However, the game was not initially designed with that approach in mind, so there would be many challenges involved in taking it down the live-service path,\u201d Mizobe notes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of these challenges is making Palworld free-to-play, which is a prerequisite for switching to the live-service business model. \u201cIt is common for live-service games to be F2P with paid elements such as skins and battle passes, but Palworld is a B2P game, so it\u2019s difficult to turn it into a live-service game from the ground up.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mizobe names PUBG and Fall Guys as examples of games that successfully switched to a free-to-play model, compensating game purchasers by giving out valuable in-game items. However, Palworld\u2019s developer is aware that this was not simple to execute. &#8220;Both (games) took several years to make the shift. While I understand that the live-service model is good for business, it\u2019s not that easy.\u201d &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1568\" height=\"870\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\" src=\"http:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231026-22571-header.jpg\" alt=\"Palworld\" class=\"wp-image-22575\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231026-22571-header.jpg 1568w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231026-22571-header-600x333.jpg 600w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231026-22571-header-380x211.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231026-22571-header-768x426.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231026-22571-header-1536x852.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231026-22571-header-150x83.jpg 150w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231026-22571-header-300x166.jpg 300w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231026-22571-header-696x385.jpg 696w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231026-22571-header-1068x593.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231026-22571-header-757x420.jpg 757w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Aside from the technical difficulties of suddenly going live-service, Palworld\u2019s developers are also keen to listen to players\u2019 wishes. As Mizobe puts it, \u201cThe most important thing is whether the players want it or not.\u201d It seems PocketPair wants to explore ways to attract new players while valuing its existing playerbase. Apparently, the developers have even considered monetizing the game by running ads, but Mizobe is not keen on implementing something like this because \u201cSteam users hate ads.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As mentioned previously, PocketPair has yet to decide what direction Palworld\u2019s future development will take, but the developer seems to be carefully evaluating the possibilities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Palworld developer&#8217;s CEO Takuro Mizobe talks about the possibility of the game switching to a live-service model.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":33790,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-37032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indie-games","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>(UPDATE) Palworld faces the difficult choice of whether to become a live-service game or stay buy-to-play, PocketPair\u2019s CEO says\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Palworld developer&#039;s CEO Takuro Mizobe talks about the possibility of the game switching to a live-service model.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/palworld-faces-the-difficult-choice-of-whether-to-become-a-live-service-game-or-stay-buy-to-play-pocketpairs-ceo-says\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"(UPDATE) Palworld faces the difficult choice of whether to become a live-service game or stay buy-to-play, PocketPair\u2019s CEO says\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Palworld developer&#039;s CEO Takuro Mizobe talks about the possibility of the game switching to a live-service model.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/palworld-faces-the-difficult-choice-of-whether-to-become-a-live-service-game-or-stay-buy-to-play-pocketpairs-ceo-says\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-13T03:58:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-15T00:51:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/20240710-33786-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1420\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"809\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amber V\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amber V\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"(UPDATE) Palworld faces the difficult choice of whether to become a live-service game or stay buy-to-play, PocketPair\u2019s CEO says\u00a0 - 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