Prepare to Be Terrified: Pocketpair Unveils New Horror Game Project!

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Summary

  • Pocketpair expands into publishing with a horror game from Surgent Studios.
  • Surgent Studios’ upcoming horror game remains mysterious, described as “short and weird” by CEO Abubakar Salim.

Japanese game developer Pocketpair, known for creating Palworld, has now ventured into publishing and unveiled its latest venture – a horror game developed by Surgent Studios. Established several years ago, Pocketpair has demonstrated its development prowess with the release of Craftopia in early access back in 2020. However, it was Palworld that really captured the spotlight, debuting on PC and Xbox in early 2024 before arriving on PlayStation 5 in September.

Regardless of the lawsuit filed by Nintendo against Pocketpair last September over allegations of similarities between their respective creatures (Pokemon and Pals in Palworld), Pocketpair appears unfazed. This could be because Nintendo’s claim only asks for roughly $65,000 USD, but Pocketpair has been quite open about its grand plans for Palworld, a game that is still in early access despite being nearly a year old.

Apart from excelling at creating popular monster-taming survival games, this Japanese studio is also venturing into other areas. They’ve previously delved into publishing, with the Metroidvania game “Never Grave: The Witch and the Curse” being developed by Frontside 180. On January 23, they announced not just one but two new initiatives. Firstly, they unveiled Pocketpair Publishing, their own publishing branch, and its inaugural project – a horror game from Surgent Studios. It’s important to note that Surgent is a film studio that entered the gaming world in April 2024 with the release of “Tales of Kenzera: ZAU”, a highly acclaimed debut that has been nominated for numerous awards.

Pocketpair Publishing’s First Stint Will Be a Horror Game

There’s not much information available about the upcoming horror game from Surgent Studios, led by Abubakar Salim, the voice of Zau. He has only mentioned that it will be brief and unusual in nature. It is unclear if this project is distinct from Project Uso, which was announced in October as their second venture. Project Uso is inspired by the 1999 classic game Planescape: Torment, promising to be a single-player afro-gothic RPG with isometric graphics. The description of Project Uso being “darker, edgier, and more visceral” does align with the possibility that it could be a horror game.

Recently, there’s been an announcement following months of uncertainty at Surgent Studios, where employees were warned about possible job cuts while the studio tried to secure funding for upcoming projects. Fingers crossed, the partnership with Pocketpair signals a brighter financial future for now, allowing staff to feel more secure as they work on projects like Uso and this latest horror game (assuming they are different projects). However, it’s unfortunate that despite Tales of Kenzera: Zau being acclaimed as one of the top Metroidvanias of 2024, it failed to attract the expected number of sales, leading to layoffs at Surgent Studios back in July 2024.

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2025-01-24 14:24