Palworld is one of the biggest indie releases of 2024 yet. It took the gaming world by surprise and will serve as inspiration for many indie developers for years to come. However, the game has lost over 95% of its players since its launch. Palworld community manager John Buckley (popularly called Bucky) said there is nothing wrong with that.
There is a growing narrative that when a game loses most of its players in a short time, it means the game is dead. That narrative has made it seem as if a game must consistently maintain a certain number of active players to be considered successful.
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For context, a game is considered dead by many when it loses the majority of its players, the developers stop supporting the game, or the game loses its competitive nature. However, there are those who may claim a game is dead when they lose interest in the game.
In a recent publication by Going Indie on YouTube, Bucky actively encouraged players to move on to other games, maintaining that gamers sticking to one game is not healthy for the developers, the players, and the industry at large.
“I don’t think you need to be pushing yourself to play the same game all the time,” Buckley said. “It’s not healthy for us, it’s not healthy for developers, it’s not healthy for gamers, it’s not healthy for gaming media.”
Pocktetpair community manager, Bucky
“It’s just not healthy for our industry, because the more we push this kind of narrative, the more very large companies are going to just say gamers want more live service. And we’re just going to get more of these soulless live service games that come out then get shut down 9-12 months later because they’re not making enough money. And we all lose in that case.”
Bucky’s statement will surprise many because games live and die nowadays depending on how long they stay relevant after launch. In the video titled “Dead Games are a good thing, actually”, the narrator said it appears Pocketpair, the creators of Palworld, knows something we all don’t.
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“Just play the games you like,” Bucky said. “If you finish in a day, cool. Good job. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Play the next one.”
Palworld developers are strongly advocating for indie game support
This is not the first time that the Palworld developer has addressed the drop in the game’s player count. Back in February, Bucky also told fans of Palworld not to feel guilty when they play other games while waiting for new Palworld content.
“There are so many amazing games out there to play,” he said at the time. “You don’t need to feel guilty about hopping from game to game. If you are still playing Palworld, we love you. If you’re no longer playing Palworld, we still love you, and we hope you’ll come back for round 2 when you’re ready. Play lots of games, try different genres, and frequently flick through indie libraries to find hidden gem.”
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Unlike big publishers who would rather see players spending all day on their titles, Palworld developers have consistently advocated for players to try other games. The most amazing thing about the Palworld team is that they are encouraging players to try more indie titles. Most great indie titles never get the recognition they desire.
“Play all the indies you can,” he said in the recent video. “Spend as much money on indies as you can. Really, really support the guys who are trying to make fun games. Who cares if there’s only five people playing it? Just enjoy yourself. Just enjoy games. I don’t think it needs to be any more complex than that.”
We think Pocketpair doesn’t want to be caught in a Palworld loop where they would be cornered into becoming a Palworld studio. We believe Pocketpair has more games that it wants to share with the world. In many ways, the game as a service model ruins creativity.
