The CEO of Pocketpair, the studio behind the hit game Palworld, has revealed that the cost of running the gaming company's servers is becoming a major concern for the company amid rising costs.
Pocketpair is behind many popular games, including Palworld, Craftopia, and Overdungeon, which are available on Steam, a popular video game distribution service and store.
In a post on
Will server running costs mean games will cost more?
The screenshot shows the cost of running the company's servers: 70 million yen, or about $475,000. That's the bill the company expects to rack up in February alone.
In response to the CEO's concern, many users commented that they would be willing to pay in-game donations to keep the games running. Others suggested paid add-ons to support the high costs of keeping servers running.
Another individual commented that large companies can “get over it as long as they [they] have cash,” indicating that smaller developers and startups would likely face more existential threats.
Despite facing initial challenges in dealing with an unexpectedly successful launch, Pocketpair has recently received fewer complaints about server issues, which could be attributed to increased investment in maintenance costs.
Palworld, which launched less than three weeks ago, has already amassed a staggering 19 million players on Steam and Xbox combined. Steam sales alone have generated revenue of more than $200 million since its launch.
Looking ahead, Palworld network engineer Chujo Hiroto said: “Following the order to never let the service go down no matter what, we have prepared servers without considering the cost.”
However, the stark reality that maintaining game servers online is costing developers millions raises the question of whether gamers and consumers are prepared for price increases across the industry, and in general, in the coming months.
