According to reports, Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe hinted in an interview that the studio's popular survival game "Phantom Pal" may soon become free-to-play to "extend its lifespan." The studio has now clarified that the interview was conducted several months ago and that there are no longer plans to do so.
"We are not changing the business model of our game," the studio wrote on Twitter today. "It will remain a buy-to-play game, not a free-to-play or service-based game. Recently, an article appeared on the Internet in which we discussed the possible future direction of Pallu and the idea of keeping the game long-term. In fact, this interview was conducted a few months ago."
The memo explains that at the time of the interview, Pocketpair was still "considering the best way forward for Paloo" as the team wanted a "long-lasting game that continues to evolve." Pocketpair is apparently still discussing how to ensure the "Pokémon with guns" game remains relevant, but it's ruling out a live service entirely.
"Pallu was never designed with that mode in mind, and it would be too much work to tweak the game at this point," the announcement continues. "Furthermore, we are very aware that this is not what our players want and we always put our players first."
Pocketpair is now considering cosmetic skins and paid DLC "as a way to support development" - although it says the team is primarily focused on making Paloo "the best game possible".
Paloo was a huge success when it debuted earlier this year, breaking multiple records on Steam, Xbox, and Xbox Game Pass. The CEO even announced that the survival monster-taming hybrid game has generated "tens of billions of yen" in revenue.