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Pocketpair Publishing is the Japanese regional publishing label of Pocketpair, the Japanese studio best known for the breakout 2024 survival-craft hit Palworld. Pocketpair Publishing serves as the regional publisher for Windrose in Japan, while Kraken Express self-publishes worldwide. The partnership was announced on April 2, 2026, ahead of the April 14, 2026 Steam Early Access launch of Windrose.

Role on Windrose

Pocketpair Publishing is listed alongside Kraken Express as publisher on the Steam store page for Windrose, but its specific role is regional: handling Japan-market distribution, localization, and marketing. Kraken Express remains the worldwide publisher outside Japan. The previous publisher Forward Gateway is no longer listed on the store page at launch.

Pocketpair's communications manager John "Bucky" Buckley announced the deal on social media: "So incredibly proud to announce that Pocketpair Publishing is the regional publisher for Windrose in Japan! A PvE pirate survival which, in my humble opinion, is already one of the best in its genre!"

Windrose launched with Japanese interface and subtitle support as one of its 12 supported languages. Pocketpair Publishing's involvement helps with Japanese-market amplification, platform relations, and regional marketing, which a small independent studio would struggle to coordinate alone.

Parent Studio

Pocketpair is a Japanese studio best known for developing Palworld, a creature-catching survival-craft game that became a viral phenomenon in 2024. Pocketpair Publishing operates as a separate publishing arm that supports third-party indie titles outside Pocketpair's own development slate. Windrose is one of the earliest high-profile titles published under this label. Pocketpair leadership has publicly noted that adding Windrose-style naval combat to Palworld would be impractical, joking that "it would just be Palworld 2."

Connection to Kraken Express

Windrose is Kraken Express's first commercial release. The Pocketpair Publishing partnership provides regional marketing support and publishing expertise in Japan, where a small Uzbekistan-based studio would otherwise have limited reach. Kraken Express retains self-publishing status worldwide, so the studio is not being acquired or absorbed by Pocketpair. The deal is specifically a Japan regional publishing arrangement, not a global co-publishing agreement.

Relevance to Players

For Japanese players, Pocketpair Publishing's involvement means better local-market support, marketing visibility, and likely improved Japanese localization quality. For players outside Japan, the deal is a background detail that does not change the game content, pricing, or feature set. Players interested in the broader publishing landscape may note that Pocketpair's association signals confidence from an established survival-game company in Kraken Express's direction. The deal does not affect Western or Korean distribution, which remains across Steam, the Epic Games Store, and Stove.

Announcement Timeline