Summary
- Palworld is projected to incur $474,000 in server upkeep costs in February 2024.
- A Pocketpair network engineer said he had been ordered "not to degrade" the game's online service no matter what.
- Palworld's server costs are expected to go down once Pocketpair finishes fixing some critical multiplayer bugs, including a severe memory leak inhibiting the game's scalability.
Palworld is currently on course to incur nearly half a million dollars in server upkeep costs for February. That eye-watering figure provides some additional perspective on what kind of "good problems" having an indie hit like Palworld can create.
The newest title from Japanese studio Pocketpair was released in early access for PC and Xbox consoles on January 19. Palworld was also a day-one Xbox Game Pass release, but that did not stop it from debuting as the best-selling game on Steam, a title that it still holds more than two weeks later.
Dedicated Player Builds Huge City in Palworld
A dedicated Palworld player builds a ridiculously massive city that elicits reactions ranging from praise to utter disbelief.
Palworld On Course To Spend $474,000 On Hosting In February
The other side of that global success is that Palworld has been struggling with server issues for days following its release, as millions of players were trying to jump into its multiplayer instances, bringing its backend to its knees. In an apparent effort to contextualize those ongoing infrastructural challenges, Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe has recently taken to Twitter to reveal the projection of the game's monthly hosting costs. His screenshot of Pocketpair's hosting provider console states that Palworld is currently on course to hit 70.53 million yen—the equivalent of $474,000—in server upkeep costs for February.
In a subsequent tweet, Pocketpair network engineer Chujo Hiroto revealed that he had been "ordered not to degrade" the game's multiplayer service no matter what. The Japanese studio is instead currently offering Palworld's multiplayer servers "without considering profitability," the official wrote, adding that the developer will continue doing everything it can to ensure that all players can keep enjoying the game "to the fullest."
I have been ordered not to degrade the [multiplayer] service no matter what I do. We have prepared servers without considering profitability.
Pocketpair's latest official sales update revealed that Palworld has surpassed 19 million players as of January 31. 12 million of those people bought the game on Steam, which suggests the title has already generated well over $200 million in Steam revenue once Valve's cut is taken out. And while half a million dollars in monthly server costs pales in comparison to that figure, that's not to say Pocketpair is planning on maintaining that overhead indefinitely.
On the contrary, the developer is currently working on patching several known multiplayer bugs—including a severe memory leak—that inhibit the game's scalability. The decision to enable scalable hosting before doing so with the goal of offering uninterrupted service is likely the main reason why its current overhead is as high as it is. Any multiplayer issues that remain as of early February are believed to be unrelated to the Epic Online Services framework that caused some problems for the game at launch, prompting the Palworld developer to hold an "emergency meeting" with Epic.
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)
