Summary
- Pocketpair labeled Palworld's 98% player count drop as "natural."
- Future content updates have the potential to reignite player interest in the game.
- The company expects Palworld to leave early access no sooner than 2025.
Pocketpair is unconcerned about Palworld's declining player count, a senior company official has said. This bit of insight was offered as part of a larger interview that also included some new information about the past, present, and future of the Palworld developer.
The monster-taming RPG was originally released in mid-January 2024, becoming a huge hit on both PC and Xbox consoles, as well as Xbox Game Pass. A month following its debut, Palworld's daily concurrent player peak on Steam had already dropped by 1.5 million. As of June 2024, the game is peaking at roughly 30,000 concurrent players on the platform on a daily basis, suggesting that its player base has shrunk by over 98% since its release.
Palworld is Not Escaping the 'Pokemon Clone' Allegations with its Sakurajima Update
The major Sakurajima update is set to bring fresh features and Pals into Palworld, but some of these new creature designs feel uncannily familiar.
Pocketpair CEO Says Palworld's Player Count Drop Is 'Natural'
But the Japanese studio behind Palworld doesn't think that drop is cause for concern. In a recent interview with Game File's Stephen Totilo, Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe labeled the game's player decline as "natural." Elaborating on that point, Mizobe revealed that Palworld players have so far averaged more than 30 hours in the game, meaning that they had experienced a big chunk of what the early access title had to offer before dropping it.
Future content drops have the potential to reignite the fandom's interest in the game, with one such addition being scheduled to debut on June 27 in the form of the massive Palworld Sakurajima update. Among other things, the upcoming patch will introduce a multiplayer battle arena, which Mizobe has characterized as an "experiment" that's meant to push the game closer to his "dream" of delivering "a true PvP mode." The executive likened this ambition to the way PvP works in survival games like Ark and Rust that have inspired Palworld, allowing players to attack one another (almost) anywhere in the world.
Palworld Dev Wants To Remain Small and Independent
Although Pocketpair recently signaled it might be open to partnerships and M&A proposals, Mizobe now told Totilo that he'd rather remain indie and stick with running a fairly small operation. "I have to forget about the money," he said in reference to Palworld's immense commercial success, adding that he doesn't want the company to grow too fast. Elaborating on that point, Mizobe said that Pocketpair currently has around 60 employees and likely won't be hiring more than 10 or 20 new staffers per year. He did confirm that he's been getting regular investment offers ever since Palworld blew up, but none that have piqued his interest yet.
Palworld Microtransactions Aren't Out of the Question
The interview also saw the executive reflect on the near-term plans for the game, revealing that he doesn't expect Palworld to leave early access before 2025, at the very earliest. Asked about the recent teaser of a Palworld PS5 port that was shared by Pocketpair community manager Bucky, Mizobe said the studio is still in the process of "discussing" additional platforms and doesn't have anything to announce on that front. The CEO also didn't rule out the possibility of introducing microtransactions to Palworld in the future, but said that any such hypothetical additions would only be offered in the form of things like Pal cosmetics. "We don't like pay-to-win [mechanics]," he explained.
Palworld
- Released
- January 19, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
In this game, you can peacefully live alongside mysterious creatures known as Pals or risk your life to drive off a ruthless poaching syndicate. Pals can be used to fight and breed, or they can be made to work on farms or factories. You can even sell them or eat them.
Survival: In a harsh environment where food is scarce and vicious poachers roam, danger waits around every corner. To survive, you must tread carefully and make difficult choices...even if that means eating your own Pals when the time comes.
Mounts & Exploration: Pals can be mounted to traverse the land, sea and sky—allowing you to traverse all kinds of environment as you explore the world.
Collect all kinds of exciting Pals to fight, farm, build, and work for you in this completely new multiplayer, open world survival and crafting game!
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Violence
- Developer(s)
- Pocket Pair, Inc.
- Publisher(s)
- Pocket Pair, Inc.
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Number of Players
- 1-4 (Co-Op); 32 Players Server Limit
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Shooter, Survival
- How Long To Beat
- 36 Hours
- File Size Xbox Series
- 6 GB (February 2024)
