It’s not uncommon to sugarcoat things in a job interview. Perhaps you’ve even told a little white lie about how much you love what the company does—it’s not like it ever comes back to bite you in the arse, right?
Wrong. Well, it will if you ever want to work at Pocketpair at least, the developer behind Palworld. First picked up by Automaton Media, Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe took to X to claim that applicants have to “submit screenshots of their Steam game play history.”
Of course, you can also submit your console libraries, too, but those who don’t play on Steam at all, well, you’re out of luck: you “won’t pass the document screening.”
ポケットペアはプランナーにはSteamのゲームのプレイ履歴のスクリーンショットを提出して貰っています。（そもそもSteam未プレイの人は書類選考通過しない）… https://t.co/maBTOxwS7sJanuary 23, 2026
You might then think you can be sneaky and use someone else’s Steam account to big-up your play history. Wrong again. Mizobe explains, “In the interview, we ask them to explain the game mechanics of the titles that rank high in their Steam playtime, why they think those specific mechanics were adopted, and what makes that title stand out when compared to other games in the same genre.”
Ultimately, Mizobe says, “Pocketpair is recruiting game creators who are true Steam gamers!”, going on to explain that the company wants its developers “to be playing indie games that are only available on Steam.” That’s the sign of a true gamer, I suppose.
Pocketpair’s head of publishing, John Buckley, backs up the CEO’s statement, saying, “So hilariously true. When I first joined, I was grilled if I knew games like Slay the Spire.”
“Pocketpair is a company that truly is built by gamers, and our CEO is very adamant to keep it that way. A luxury we have because we’re 100% independent.”
It’s certainly an interesting approach to the hiring process, demanding applicants ‘prove’ not only their claims but also that they’re well-versed in the industry. Indie games are often some of the most creative experiences out there, so it’s a good font of knowledge to pull from.
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