Pocketpair Publishing, the publishing arm of Palworld studio Pocketpair, won't fund or publish games that use generative AI, according to the latest on-record statement about the label. John "Bucky" Buckley, who runs publishing and communications at Pocketpair, set out the rule in an interview with Game Developer at Gamescom Asia, published October 21, 2025. In June 2026 he told GamesRadar+ that Pocketpair keeps the technology out of its own games as well.
Pocketpair announced the label in January 2025 to fund, help develop and publish games from indie studios. In the Game Developer interview, Buckley said studios whose games rely on generative AI, or are built on Web3 or NFTs, should look for a different publisher. "We don't believe in it," he said.
He also predicted that low-quality AI-made games would spread on Steam over the next two or three years, and that players would push back by backing more authentic work, Game Developer reported.
In June 2026, a few weeks before Palworld left early access on July 10, Buckley told GamesRadar+'s Austin Wood that Pocketpair keeps generative AI out of its own games too. His reasons: players don't want it, and the studio's in-house artists like doing the work themselves. "Gamers don't want it, and if the gamers don't want it, I guess that's it, right?" he said. Game Developer, Insider Gaming and KitGuru also reported the interview. It was about Pocketpair's own games; the published article doesn't restate the publishing rule.
Most recently, Buckley posted on X (@Bucky_cm) on October 20 about October's Steam Next Fest. As AIGamer reported, SteamDB counts by NeoTeo and TheGamer found about 36% of that event's 7,000-plus demos carried Steam's AI disclosure tag. He told developers not to give up, arguing that most low-effort games sink quickly and that Next Fest is still a gamble worth taking, GamesRadar+ and OtakuKart reported.
Why it matters: Pocketpair is a rare publisher to state such a ban on the record, and it has money and reach after Palworld. Developers using AI for art or other assets can skip it as a partner. The stance fits a wider pull toward labeling and filtering AI games, from Steam's disclosure notices to itch.io's No AI search filter.
Caveat: We couldn't find a written policy on Pocketpair's site, and neither interview defines generative AI. It's unclear whether AI coding assistants, machine translation or temporary placeholder art would rule a game out. Pocketpair has also faced accusations, which it denies, that Palworld used generative AI; Buckley told PocketGamer.biz in August 2026 that the technology wasn't used.
Next from the label is Clicky Islands, an incremental city-builder by two-person Polish studio Karrot Games that Pocketpair co-publishes, leading its release in Asia, Notebookcheck reported. Pocketpair Publishing's October 15 press release sets it for Steam on November 16.
