Developer Pocketpair has revealed that Palworld's upcoming Winter update won't be as large as last December's Feybreak patch. While this may disappoint many Palworld players, scaling back the patch could actually be a good thing.
As one of the most-played games on Steam, Palworld has maintained an impressive player base since its 2024 launch. A big part of its success comes from constant updates and patches that often add numerous new features and mechanics, despite the game being in Early Access. That said, developer Pocketpair now appears ready to reduce the size of these updates for a while to focus on something far more important.
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Pocketpair Wants to Focus on the Release of Palworld 1.0
In a new video announcement, Pocketpair's Communications Director, Bucky, revealed that the anticipated Winter update won't be as large as Palworld's Feybreak patch because the company is focusing on the game's global launch. "Palworld 1.0 will be a major milestone for us, and we have a massive amount of content planned for the 1.0 update," Bucky said. However, he noted that this shift in focus means the team won't be releasing more major updates like the Feybreak patch that launched on December 22, 2024.
Players are likely aware that the Feybreak patch was one of Palworld's largest updates, introducing dozens of key new mechanics, including a new titular island, as well as the research and expedition systems. The Winter patch for 2025 won't be as large, but according to Pocketpair, it will still bring plenty of surprises for long-time fans.
A key detail in Pocketpair's announcement is that Palworld is officially preparing to leave Early Access in 2026. According to the company's Communications Director, the game's 1.0 version is planned for next year. Pocketpair also emphasized that the full release will be far more polished than the current version. "It's no secret that Palworld has a lot of quirks and jank," Bucky said, noting that the developer wants to use the time before the global launch to address these issues properly. In other words, scaling back content in the upcoming patches could be exactly what Palworld needs to reach its full potential.
At its peak, Palworld had over 2,000,000 concurrent players on Steam, making it one of the platform's biggest releases. That number has since dropped, now averaging around 40,000 concurrent players per day. Some lapsed players blamed the game's bugs and glitches for the drop in its player base. Others argued that the Pals' underwhelming AI diminishes the fun and fails to motivate fans to spend much time in Palworld's universe. Regardless, leaving Early Access gives the game a second chance to revitalize its servers and bring back many lapsed players by offering a refined gameplay experience. While it may never reach the heights of its early days, a more polished Palworld with plenty of new content seems likely to attract hundreds of thousands of new and returning players.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 71 /100 Critics Rec: 58%
- Released
- January 19, 2024
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Violence
- Developer(s)
- Pocket Pair, Inc.
- Publisher(s)
- Pocket Pair, Inc.
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!
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- Xbox Series X|S, pc
- Cross Save
- yes
- Number of Players
- 1-4 (Co-Op); 32 Players Server Limit
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Shooter, Survival
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
- How Long To Beat
- 36 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 6 GB (February 2024)
