“Creative Independence Is the Most Important Factor” – Palworld Lead Says Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Should Still Be Considered Indie Despite Outside Marketing Support

John ‘Bucky’ Buckley, head of publishing and communications at Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, has questioned the industry’s increasingly complicated definition of independent game development. In a post on X dated October 29, Buckley argued that receiving financial or publishing assistance does not automatically make a developer less independent. Pocketpair considers itself an indie studio because it is entirely self-funded and has no outside investors. However, Buckley acknowledged that the company’s commercial success and growing size have led some players…