John “Bucky” Buckley, the outspoken lead at Pocketpair, has taken to Twitter to address accusations that the team has abandoned their beloved open-world survival crafting title, Palworld. These concerns sprouted from various players claiming the game has been neglected after two years in early access. Bucky couldn’t resist engaging with the critics, responding to one who asserted that Pocketpair “dgaf” about the game anymore.
In typical Bucky fashion, he retorted, “True, two free collabs, two unreleased spin-offs, plus still in early access (read: boogeyman mode) because we are fixing and patching issues. We definitely ‘dgaf’!” His humor came through again when he sarcastically suggested, “We should drop 1.0 right now, add loot boxes, disable singleplayer, online only then shut it down in 12 months.”
This knee-jerk reaction might seem hasty, but it highlights Pocketpair’s dedication to the game. Just recently, they teased their imminent 1.0 update, which Bucky promises will be the biggest yet. The studio’s commitment is further evidenced by their recent collaboration with Epic for a Fortnite crossover. This makes it hard to defend claims that Pocketpair is disengaged from Palworld’s development.
Nevertheless, the concerns raised by players aren’t entirely unfounded. After all, Pocketpair’s previous title, Craftopia, which entered early access in 2020, still hasn’t launched its 1.0 version. With Palworld seemingly taking the spotlight, some fans worry about the future of Craftopia and what that means for ongoing support.
On a related note, in an interesting hiring policy, Bucky explained that the company won’t consider applicants with no previous Steam playtime. “If an applicant’s number of Steam games played is 0, we will, in principle, pass them on,” he remarked, hinting at the studio’s strategy to ensure their team is genuinely passionate about gaming.
As the Palworld community waits for further updates, Bucky’s honest and candid approach might just serve to reinforce player trust in Pocketpair’s dedication to their evolving title.