Palworld publishing lead more determined to help indie devs

John 'Bucky' Buckley, Palworld's publishing and communications lead, now heads Pocketpair Publishing, the studio division focused on funding smaller games from indie creators. He says he's "more determined than ever" to help cool developers who are struggling to find funding in a shaky industry.

Looking back at the Game Developers Conference 2026, Buckley acknowledged that being based in Tokyo had left him blind to many of the problems facing the games industry in the West. "I go to events like GDC and it's a crash course in the hardships and struggles devs there are facing," he wrote.

He emphasised he's not talking about massive studios but "the boots on the ground making cool little games" that often can't find backers. "There are so so so so so many incredible games in development that I know you guys, the gamers, would love…and most won't ever see the light of day because they can't find funding," he added.

Japan, Tokyo

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