Palworld’s Struggles Reveal an Often Overlooked Downside of Big Indie Games

by

2025 saw a huge surge in popular indie games, with titles like Palworld, Hades 2, and Hollow Knight: Silksong gaining massive attention, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 even winning Game of the Year. While these smaller, AA or indie games are getting more recognition, players often don’t consider how challenging it is to actually make them. Recent discussions surrounding the development of Palworld highlight just how rare it is for an indie game to become a major success.

Pocketpair Publishing is the publishing division of Pocketpair, the company behind the popular game Palworld. For months, both Pocketpair and its publishing group have been involved in legal battles with Nintendo, primarily over copyright and patent issues concerning Palworld and the Pokémon series. Palworld‘s surprising success has made navigating these disputes easier for Pocketpair, and has also brought increased attention to the development process of independent games.

Palworld Developers Have Made Revealing Comments Regarding Indie Game Publishing

A recent GamesRadar article highlighted comments from Pocketpair Publishing about the challenges indie game developers face when trying to secure funding. According to publishing head John Buckley, after the success of Palworld, numerous indie studios contacted Pocketpair seeking help with their projects. These requests went beyond simply asking for money, revealing deeper issues with the costs of game development and publishing.

Buckley was surprised by how many publishers take a disproportionately large share of the profits from game development teams, often leaving them with little money to continue working on their projects. He explained that he encountered small teams—of just four or five people—who were accustomed to handing over all their earnings to publishers for an entire year, which he found unbelievable.

As a fan, it really struck me when Buckley talked about how messed up things are for indie developers. It’s honestly shocking how hard it is for them just to keep making the games they love. So many struggle to even make back their costs after a launch, and it’s heartbreaking to think about all the years of work that can be wiped out. Plus, some publishers take such a huge cut of the profits that it forces developers to compromise on their creative vision – it’s like they’re sacrificing what made their game special just to survive. It’s a really tough situation for them.

Any Big Game Released Has To Pay Up Publishers Despite Any Success

How game publishing deals work varies depending on the developers and companies providing funding. These deals can be especially challenging for independent developers, sometimes even causing promising games to fail. This is often because publishers invest significant time and resources into marketing and building hype for the games they support. However, there are also many instances where publishers become heavily involved in the actual creation of a game, more so than players realize.

Some companies structure revenue sharing so they take a large portion of a game’s earnings to cover development costs. This can prevent developers from fully benefiting from their work, particularly when the agreement heavily favors the publisher. This situation is especially common with independent (indie) games, as they often rely on publishers for funding and support more than larger, established studios.

Game Costs Have Increased Partially Due To The Demand For Larger Publishing

Pocketpair Publishing’s recent statements are insightful because the gaming industry is increasingly expensive. New AAA games now often cost around $70, and special or deluxe versions can easily exceed $100. While game development is becoming more expensive, increased marketing efforts to help games stand out may also be contributing to these rising prices.

Big companies can handle the increasing costs of changing how games are published, but smaller, independent game developers are facing real difficulties. Higher publishing costs and unfair revenue splits are already hurting projects, as seen with Pocketpair Publishing. John Buckley’s team received a flood of requests from indie developers desperate for help with finding fair deals, highlighting the need for better terms that don’t take advantage of creators.

Honestly, Pocketpair Publishing was born out of wanting to help other indie devs, especially after Palworld blew up – it was totally unexpected! But seeing how many indie games are struggling to get funded, and how crazy expensive publishing is becoming, it makes me worried that smaller projects won’t have the same chance to shine as the big hits of 2025. It just feels like the costs are getting out of hand.

What are your thoughts on the indie game scene as we head into 2026? Share your opinions in the comments or discuss it with others on the ComicBook Forum!

Read More

2026-01-22 17:16