At last month’s Game Developers Conference (GDC), we had the opportunity to sit down with John “Bucky” Buckley, communications director and publishing manager at Palworld developer Pocketpair. Our conversation followed his insightful talk at the Community Management Summit titled *“A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop.”* During the session, Buckley candidly addressed several challenges the studio faced—most notably, the false claims that Palworld used generative AI in development (a rumor Pocketpair has strongly debunked) and accusations of copying Pokémon’s creature designs (which have since been retracted by the original claimant). He also briefly touched on Nintendo’s patent infringement lawsuit against the studio, which he described as a complete surprise and something no one at Pocketpair had anticipated.
While we’ve already covered key highlights from our discussion in shorter articles—including topics such as potential Nintendo Switch 2 support, Pocketpair’s stance on the “Pokémon with guns” label, and whether the company would ever consider acquisition—we’re now sharing the full, unfiltered interview for those interested in a deeper dive into Pocketpair’s community management journey and its unexpected rise to global recognition.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity:
IGN: I'm going to get the really annoying one out of the way first. You mentioned the lawsuit very briefly during your GDC talk. Has it made it harder for Pocketpair to update and develop Palworld?
John Buckley: Not really. It hasn’t affected the game updates or development progress at all. It’s more of a lingering presence—something everyone is aware of but doesn’t interfere directly with the day-to-day work. The main impact has been on morale. Everyone thinks about it, but it hasn't slowed us down creatively or technically. Of course, legal matters are being handled by the appropriate people, but from a development standpoint, it’s business as usual.
Okay, let’s talk about the “Pokémon with guns” nickname you mentioned in your talk. It seems like you weren’t a fan of that label. Why?
Buckley: Honestly, a lot of people don’t believe us when we say this, but the idea of “Pokémon with guns” was never part of our initial pitch or design process. We wanted to create something similar to ARK: Survival Evolved, but with more automation and unique personalities for each creature. Many of us were big fans of ARK, and our previous title Craftopia included elements we loved from it. So the goal was to take that concept further—more automation, more personality, more distinctiveness per creature.
When we released the first trailer, that label started gaining traction. It wasn’t ideal, but it’s what it is.
You said in your talk that you didn’t fully understand why Palworld became so popular. Do you think the “Pokémon with guns” label helped fuel that fire?
Buckley: Absolutely. That phrase definitely played a role. Dave Oshry even trademarked Pokemonwithguns.com, which probably added to the buzz. While we can’t deny the attention it brought, what bothers us most is when people assume the game actually plays like that. If someone plays it and still wants to call it that, that’s fine—but we’d prefer players give it a fair shot before labeling it.
If you had to describe Palworld with a catchy phrase, what would it be?
Buckley: I might go with something like, “Palworld: Imagine ARK meets Factorio and Happy Tree Friends.” But yeah, it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, does it? Maybe that’s why it never caught on.
In your talk, you also discussed the backlash around claims that Palworld was created using AI-generated art. How did that affect the team internally?
Buckley: It hit us hard—really hard. This was, without a doubt, the biggest challenge we faced. Even today, if you look at any article or Reddit thread about Palworld, there’s always someone accusing us of using AI. It’s frustrating because it’s completely untrue. Our artists, especially our long-time Pal concept designers, felt this the worst. None of them want to go public due to online harassment concerns, particularly in Japan where many female developers prefer to stay behind the scenes. We tried releasing an art book to showcase our handcrafted work, which helped a bit, but not as much as we hoped.
There’s a growing belief that people can spot AI-generated art just by looking at it. What’s your take on that?
Buckley: A lot of these arguments are pretty weak, in my opinion. Most of the suspicion comes from something our CEO said years ago, where he used the word “sugoi” (amazing) regarding AI tools. People interpreted that as enthusiasm for using AI in our games, which wasn’t the case. Then there was the release of one of our side projects called *AI: Art Imposter*, a social deduction party game involving AI image generation. While it was meant to be ironic, some saw it as proof we embraced AI. In reality, it was just a small experimental project that gained unintended attention.
What’s your overall perspective on online gaming communities today? Is social media still beneficial for Pocketpair?
Buckley: Social media is essential for us, especially considering our strong presence in Asian markets like Japan and China, where platforms like Twitter and Weibo are deeply integrated into daily life. However, interactions can get intense. Emotions run high, and while I understand frustration over bugs or issues, death threats and extreme negativity are difficult to handle. As a former MMO player, I know how easy it is to get swept up in emotions, but it’s tough when those frustrations turn personal.
Do you feel like social media is getting worse lately?
Buckley: Definitely. There’s a growing trend of people saying the opposite just to gain attention or spark controversy. Some influencers thrive on being contrarian, criticizing new games regardless of quality. Luckily, Palworld has largely avoided political or divisive discourse. Most of the criticism we receive is related to gameplay bugs or technical issues, which we’re actively working to resolve.
You mentioned in your talk that most of the negative feedback came from Western audiences. Any idea why?
Buckley: Not really. We’ve noticed that while Palworld has a dedicated fanbase globally, the loudest critics tend to be from the West. In Japan, we’re seen as somewhat divisive—half love us, half hate us. But surprisingly, we received far less toxicity from Japanese and Chinese audiences. Perhaps it was just easier to target us in English-speaking spaces back then. Thankfully, things have calmed down significantly.
Palworld Screens
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Given Palworld’s massive success, has it changed how Pocketpair operates or what your future plans look like?
Buckley: Our future plans have evolved, but the studio itself remains largely unchanged. We’ve grown our server and development teams to improve efficiency, but we’re still keeping a tight-knit structure. Our CEO prefers a smaller scale—around 70 employees—and wants to avoid becoming a massive corporation. While reaching millions of sales was surreal, we’re still figuring out how to navigate this level of success.
Did you expect Palworld to become this successful?
Buckley: Not at all. Reaching a million sales for an indie game feels like a major achievement. Two million? Amazing. Ten million? Unbelievable. Steam reports started showing numbers that didn’t seem real anymore. It’s surreal, and it’s still hard to fully grasp.
