Pocketpair Refuses to Publish Games Using Generative AI

Japanese developer Pocketpair, globally known for Palworld, said it will not publish games using generative AI. In an interview with Game Developer at Gamescom Asia, communications director and publishing manager John Buckley emphasized the company’s focus on traditional development. The decision applies to any project seeking funding or publishing support from the studio.

Pocketpair launched its dedicated publishing division in January to help smaller studios bring projects to market, offering financial backing and development guidance. Buckley explained the company’s stance clearly, ”We don’t believe in it. If your game is AI-driven or uses Web3 or NFTs, there are other publishers, but we’re not the right partner.”

Pocketpair Publishing's Stance Against AI Games

The company predicts that AI-generated titles will increase across platforms like Steam, creating a market where players and developers scrutinize which games are genuinely human-made, describing this as a coming “authenticity market,” where studios committed to human-driven design will stand out amid an influx of low-quality, AI-produced titles.

Pocketpair has also faced accusations of using AI in its own projects, particularly for localization of Palworld in markets including Vietnam, Indonesia, Turkey, Poland, and Thailand.

Clarifying those accusations, Buckley said translations were completed by human teams, and misattributed credits caused confusion. “One of their biggest pieces of 'evidence' was that we hadn’t published the individual names of the translators. Well, no, this is just poor Japanese culture in general,” the studio updated credits and addressed the issue publicly, though some claims persist despite the corrections.

As AI adoption grows, with companies like EA, Microsoft, and Embracer Group exploring it, Pocketpair maintains its focus on projects that do not use generative AI.