If you follow the Japanese indie scene, you might have heard ofPalworld, nicknamed “PokemonWith Guns” by many as a meme, as that’s what the game’s reveal trailer felt like - And well, the developers ofPalworld, Pocket Pair, made a surprising announcement regardingElden Ring’s release.
Elden Ring, the new action RPG by FromSoftware, is one of the most hyped up releases of 2022. It’s a new entry in theSoulsseries, containingDemon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro,andKing’s Fieldif you wanna act cool. TheSoulsseries is often cited as one of the most influential franchises of these last ten years.
Pocket Pair is a Japanese indie studio always making waves with its ingenious trailers, often featured atIndie Live Expo. They are behind two games still in-development, the open-world survival crafting gameCraftopia, and “Pokemon With Guns” gamePalworld. Which is actually more likeARK Survival EvolvedthanPokemonto cite Pocket Pair CEO Takuro Mizobe.
Palworld and Craftopia devs Pocket Pair take days off for Elden Ring’s release
As pointed outby our Japanese peers atFamitsu, Pocket Pair announced on Twitter that its staff will take some days off for the release ofElden Ring, an “Elden Break”. The statement from Pocket Pair explained that “Elden Lords won’t have to work from Friday 25 to Monday 28 included” because “you wouldn’t be able to focus on work anyways”.
Besides “Pokemon Gun” gamePalworld, Pocket Pair is also the developer ofCraftopia, which is available in Early Access on Xbox and PC via Steam. Just likePalworld,Craftopiais very direct when it comes to revealing its inspirations. It’s a mix of open-world games,Rune Factory, Pokemon, Fortnite,andDiablo.
Additionally, it’s important to note that Pocket Pair is a pretty small studio,which started with only four people. So they probably didn’t have a lot of trouble reaching an understanding and all taking some rest to playElden Ring. The studio, in replies to its viralElden Ringtweet, explained that it’s in fact recruiting.
Japanese indie studio Pocket Pair announces Elden Break on Twitter:
As a side note, another studio, PeroPeroGames,pulled a similar stuntback whenCyberpunk 2077released and everyone still believed it’ll be awesome. PeroPeroGames is behind the excellent rhythm gameMuse Dash.
Elden Ringwill be out worldwide on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC (Steam) on February 25. FromSoftware’s latest game also went through a pretty interestingcontroversy regarding streaming in Japan. You can check out the reveal trailer forPalworldbelow if you’ve never seen this cinematic masterpiece.Craftopiais available in Early Access, butPalworldisn’t playable yet, and has a 2022 estimated release.
