Pocketpair may not be actively producing a Palworld anime but that doesn’t mean we won’t get one.
Earlier this year, Palworld developer Pocketpair announced that it had partnered with Sony Music Entertainment Japan and Aniplex to turn Palworld into a multimedia IP. The staggering success of the title at launch made the move feel like a no-brainer after it managed to hold down a spot in Steam’s top 10 most-played games of all time.
While a PlayStation 5 release for Palworld has already emerged from the partnership, the inclusion of Aniplex in the deal caused fans to speculate that a Palworld anime was in the works. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like things have progressed that far.
In a Tokyo Game Show interview with TheGamer, representatives from Pocketpair gave a status report on the status of a presumed Palworld anime. While it may dash the hopes of fans less optimistic than us, there’s still a reason to be excited.
“We are very interested in the possibility of an anime adaptation,” Pocketpair revealed. “but there are no plans at the moment.” While an anime for Palworld isn’t in development currently, it certainly doesn’t mean it’s off the table.
The developer continued discussing the topic and explained that they believe “the world and characters of Palworld would certainly lend themselves well to animation”. They gave fans of the game something to hold onto by confirming that the company is “open to exploring that possibility in the future”.
Palworld’s morbid satire of the Pokemon franchise would certainly make for some hilarious anime shenanigans. We’re not too sure how we feel about seeing a Lamball being riddled with bullets or shot full of arrows though.
While the possibility of a Palworld anime hasn’t been ruled out entirely, Pocketpair does have a major lawsuit from Nintendo and Gamefreak looming above them. We likely won’t see an animated adaptation of the game until that matter is resolved.