“Signed a VERY exciting game a couple of days ago,” wrote Buckley on social media platform X. “Really excited to share more info about it in the future, but it needs to cook for a bit first! Have quite a few others in the wings that we’ll start revealing soon though! All bangers of course.”

Pocketpair had announced its plans to publish indie games all the way back in January, with the first game being originally announced as a “brand new horror game” that had “an original approach” by Surgent Studios – the developer behind Tales of Kenzera: Zau. The game would eventually be revealed as being Dead Take, which came out on PC on July 31.

Shortly after announcing the partnership, Buckley had taken to social media to write about why the company decided to go into game publishing. In a series of posts, he wrote about Pocketpair’s aims of helping indie studios get their projects financed in a way that they don’t get “wrapped up in stinky rule makers and bullies.”

“We give you money. You make the game,” posted Buckley. “If you want help with marketing or something we’ll help out, but otherwise do whatever you want. “We’re giving devs the financial freedom to make games they want so they DON’T have to get wrapped up in stinky rule makers and bullies.”

Buckley also spoke about feeling surprised at the level of interest Pocketpair Publishing got when the publishing wing was first announced. “We announced Pocketpair Publishing 15 hours ago… My inboxes were 0 before then… I think I might have underestimated how much interest here would be,” posted Buckley back in January.

Dead Take was the first game published by Pocketpair Publishing. The title was properly unveiled with a small teaser, with studio CEO Abubakar Salim saying that the secretive nature of the game’s reveal served a purpose.

“We’re being secretive for a reason,” said Salim in a statement included with the press release announcing Dead Take. “The subject matter of this game is delicate, and it hits close to home. When it comes out, and it won’t be long until it does, I want players to think, ‘I can’t believe they actually did this.”

Back in July, Dead Take got a proper trailer which revealed that the game would feature quite a few famous actors, including Neil Newbon (Baldur’s Gate 3’s Astarion) and Ben Starr (Final Fantasy 16’s Clive Rossfeld). The game also features a host of famous voice actors, including Matthew Mercer and Laura Bailey, and even features a cameo by Sam Lake.

As a psychological horror title, players control Chase Lowry, who ventures into a mysterious Hollywood director’s mansion to find Vinny Monroe, his missing friend. By solving puzzles and splicing clips, they can uncover secrets and ultimately learn the truth. Of course, as creative director Abubakar Salim stated in a press release, it’s also about the “high of ambition and the rot underneath it,” “The lies we tell ourselves to get in the spotlight, and the monsters we become to stay there.”

Newbon and Starr aren’t the only notable actors. As the trailer notes, you can look forward to seeing others like Jane Perry (Dragon Age: The Veilguard) and Alanah Pearce (Cyberpunk 2077). Laura Bailey, Matthew Mercer, Sam Lake, Travis Willingham and Connor Marc Colquhoun, aka CDawgVA, also have cameos. Stay tuned for more details on Dead Take ahead of its launch.

While the short teaser trailer doesn’t really reveal much in the way of details, it does give us a hint about what kind of horror we can expect from Dead Take. There is also a heavy use of old-school video artefacts, including scenes filled with static, that also have hidden messages for players to uncover. The teaser caps things off with a simple “coming soon”, with no confirmation of a release window.

According to Surgent Studios, Dead Take’s story will revolve around players slowly uncovering the darkest secrets of the entertainment industry that have been hidden behind a clean, glittery facade. However, the studio doesn’t yet seem keen on revealing more details as of yet, with CEO Abubakar Salim talking about being delicate about the game’s subject matter.

“We’re being secretive for a reason,” said Salim in a statement included with the press release announcing Dead Take. “The subject matter of this game is delicate, and it hits close to home. When it comes out, and it won’t be long until it does, I want players to think, ‘I can’t believe they actually did this.”

Pocketpair and Surgent Studios had announced this partnership all the way back in January, with the publisher revealing that Surgent’s new game will be its first publishing project. At the time, the game was simply described as being a “brand new horror game” with “an original approach.”

Salim had further expanded on the partnership by talking about how Surgent Studios and Pocketpair are a good fit together because both companies like to take risks. He also said that Dead Take will be “short and weird”. He also revealed that the studio was in further talks to make more titles based on the Tales of Kenzera: Zau universe.

“We noticed a pattern in the entertainment industry, and Pocketpair has given us the opportunity to make a horror game about it,” said Salim. “Both Surgent and Pocketpair are well versed in taking risks. This game will be short and weird, and we think players will be interested in what we have to say.”

“We’re still in earnest conversation about further projects set in the Tales of Kenzera universe, but this will be a standalone piece: a mile marker between where we’ve come from and where we’re going.”

Pocketpair, for its part, had later revealed that it had started getting pitches from indie studios in less than 24 hours after announcing its plans to go into game publishing. “We announced Pocketpair Publishing 15 hours ago… My inboxes were 0 before then… I think I might have underestimated how much interest here would be,” wrote communications director and publishing manager John Buckley on X.

Dead Take is slated for release on PC. It is currently unknown whether it will be coming to consoles as well. In the meantime, there’s a Steam store listing where you can wishlist the title.

“Our CEO [Takuro Mizobe] would never allow it,” responded Buckley. “He’d never allow it. He’d never allow it. He would never, never allow it. He likes doing his own thing and he likes being his own boss. He doesn’t like people telling him what to do.”

Buckley believes that if Pocketpair were to be acquired, it would likely only happen once Mizobe were to start thinking about retirement. However, he doesn’t believe that it would be happening anytime soon. Rather, because Pocketpair is involved in quite a few things, including Palworld as a major IP, the company will be quite busy for a while.

“So I would be shocked,” continued Buckley. “Maybe when [Mizobe]’s old, and he might just sell it off for money. And that would be sad, but in my lifetime, I probably won’t see it. No, it’ll be interesting to see where the two paths go. We, Pocketpair, are obviously only involved in where the game path is going. Palworld as an IP, we are involved, but it’s very much in the hands of Aniplex and Sony Music who are steering that ship right now. We are just offering our advice and thoughts as they take that.”

Interestingly, Buckley’s statement run counter to ones made by Mizobe back in March 2024, when he said in an interview that while the studio was happy with its independence, it would be “open to consider offers for partnership or acquisition”.

When it comes to the success of Palworld and it becoming a major IP, Pocketpair announced a joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) and Aniplex back in July 2024. Dubbed Palworld Entertainment Inc., the venture would focus on further developing the IP, including potentially global merchandising and licensing.

Buckley has also previously spoken about bringing Palworld on to the Nintendo Switch 2. In an interview, he revealed that the studio would start considering it once more details about the console were revealed, and if it turned out to be powerful enough to run the game.

“We haven’t seen those specs yet,” said Buckley back in March. “Like everyone else, we’re waiting. I’m walking around GDC hoping someone will tell me them, but everyone I’ve spoken to says they haven’t even seen them.”

“If [Switch 2]’s beefy enough, it’s 100% worth considering,” he said about the technical hurdles the studio might face. “We did a lot of optimization for Steam Deck, which we were really happy with. Still work to do, but we’re really happy with how it turned out. So we would like to get it on more handhelds if possible.”

Alongside working on Palworld, Pocketpair is also working with Tales of Kenzera: Zau developer Surgent Studios on its next title. The game doesn’t yet have a name, but has been described as “short and weird”. The studio and publisher have also confirmed that it will be a horror game.

“We announced Pocketpair Publishing 15 hours ago… My inboxes were 0 before then… I think I might have underestimated how much interest here would be,” posted Buckley on X.

The company seems to be intent on taking a hands-off approach with the games it publishes. Responding to another X user about how much of a role Pocketpair would play in the development of a game it is publishing, Buckley responded by saying that it wants to give developers the financial freedom they want to make their games.

“We give you money. You make the game,” posted Buckley. “If you want help with marketing or something we’ll help out, but otherwise do whatever you want. “We’re giving devs the financial freedom to make games they want so they DON’T have to get wrapped up in stinky rule makers and bullies.”

While Pocketpair is yet to make any further announcements about the games it might publish, it is currently working with Tales of Kenzera: Zau developer Surgent Studios on a horror game. Studio founder Abubakar Salim revealed that alongside the newly-announced game, the studio was also in conversations about future games that would be set in the Tales of Kenzera: Zau universe.

Pocketpair has also been busy with its own game, and recently released an update for Palworld celebrating Spring with a host of new skins for Pals. The update also brought balance changes to the title, including the addition of the Earth element to Mammorest and Mammorest Cyst.

Buckley also recently spoke about Palworld‘s World Tree, and how content around it had been mapped out for quite some time. For context, the World Tree has been easily visible to players for quite some time, and an ending scenario for the game is supposed to take place there. However, Buckley has revealed that it doesn’t necessarily mean the end for Palworld.

As for confirmed upcoming content for the game, Pocketpair had announced back in November that it would be teaming up with Terraria developer Re-Logic for a collaborative event. While details haven’t yet been confirmed by either of the companies, speculations indicate that we would see some mechanics from both games making their way into the other. Whether this means Pals coming to Terraria or boss fights from the latter popping up in Palworld as potential Pals is currently unknown.

The last major update for Palworld was Feybreak, which brought with it the eponymous island. The update also introduced a new faction for players to deal with, as well as a new raid. On the gameplay side of things, players are now able to hunt down criminals scattered all over the world, and research permanent boosts.

Palworld is available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. For more details, check out our review.

We announced Pocketpair Publishing 15 hours ago…

My inboxes were 0 before then…

…I think I might have underestimated how much interest there would be😓 pic.twitter.com/MCal1HuAUg

— Bucky | Palworld (@Bucky_cm) January 24, 2025

We give you money.
You make game.

If you want help with marketing or something we’ll help out, but otherwise do whatever you want.

We’re giving devs the financial freedom to make games they want so they DON’T have to get wrapped up with stinky rule makers and bullies.

— Bucky | Palworld (@Bucky_cm) January 24, 2025

“We’re pleased to announcer that our first project as Pocketpair Publishing will be supporting a brand new horror game from @surgentstudios,” posted Pocketpair on X. “Surgent Studios is a studio with an original approach, and Pocketpair is excited to support them to the fullest extent.”

Along with announcing that it will be publishing the new title, the company has also stated that it will be a new horror game. Surgent Studios hasresponded to PocketPair’s post by posting “FRIENDS”.

Surgent Studios was a company founded by Abubakar Salim, who has previously voiced Assassin’s Creed Origins protagonist Bayek. The studio’s first major release was Tales of Kenzera: Zau, which was released back in March 2024.

“We noticed a pattern in the entertainment industry, and Pocketpair has given us the opportunity to make a horror game about it,” said Salim, according to IGN. “Both Surgent and Pocketpair are well versed in taking risks. This game will be short and weird, and we think players will be interested in what we have to say.”

“We’re still in earnest conversation about further projects set in the Tales of Kenzera universe, but this will be a standalone piece: a mile marker between where we’ve come from and where we’re going.”

The company had announced that it was working on a new title, developed under the codename Project Uso. The few details that Salim revealed about the game include that it will be an RPG with an isometric perspective, there will be action RPG styled combat, and that its general atmosphere can be described as afro-gothic.

Project Uso is also described as a more visceral and gritty title than Tales of Kenzera: Zau, despite the fact that both games take place in the same universe. During its announcement, Salim had stated that the studio was looking for a funding partner, and while it hasn’t been confirmed either way, the title being published by Pocketpair might just be Project Uso.

However, it is also worth noting that Project Uso wasn’t announced as a horror title, and this new title is set to be a standalone project that doesn’t take place in the same universe as Tales of Kenzera: Zau.

Salim also mentioned that, with the development of Project Uso, the studio wanted to try its hand at creating its own RPG system, since many of the developers are also fans of tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons. To that end, Project Uso will feature the Crucible system, which will involve players having to partake in dice rolls against their own actions.

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The game’s story revolves around the player character challenging the God of Death in order to change the status quo. The title saw a positive critical reception on release. However, no sales data for the game have been revealed so far. In the mean time, Surgent Studios was also hit with a round of lay offs that impacted more than a dozen of its employees.

For more details about Tales of Kenzera: Zau, check out our review.

We’re pleased to announce that our first project as Pocketpair Publishing will be supporting a brand new horror game from @surgentstudios !
Pocketpair Publishingの最初のプロジェクトとして、SURGENT STUDIOSの完全新作のサポートを開始しました。

SURGENT STUDIOS is a studio with an… pic.twitter.com/hqJcCbie3S

— Pocketpair Publishing (@PocketpairPBLSH) January 23, 2025

FRIENDS

— Pocketpair Publishing (@PocketpairPBLSH) January 23, 2025