When Palworld first launched in early 2024, skeptics labeled it simply as"Pokémon with guns" that would surely fold the moment Nintendo's legal team caught wind of it.
Instead, over the proceeding 2 and half years, Pocketpair have built a legitimate survival-crafting funfest that has more than carved it's own path in the gaming industry.
Tomorrow, July 10, Palworld officially exits Early Access and launches version 1.0. Revealed just last month at the Summer Game Fest, the highly anticipated full release has been preceded today by an awesome new trailer, showing Palworld looking sharper and more expansive than ever before.
The scale of Palworld 1.0 is going to be massive
To give you an idea of the sheer scale of this launch, Pocketpair’s Community Manager, Bucky, has been teasing that he's nearly losing his mind trying to format the patch notes.
The update boasts 27 PDF pages totaling over 66,000 characters of changes and additions, so massive it actually broke Steam's standard 32,000-character post limit.
Ok...hmm...How to fit...patch note...on Steam... pic.twitter.com/BsYD488IChJuly 9, 2026
Palworld's rocky road to 1.0
Palworld's success is nothing short of legendary at this point. Launching into Early Access in January 2024, it became a viral hit and secured it's place as Xbox's biggest third party Game Pass launch in history by drawing in over 7 million players. Fast forward to today, and Pocketpair has just announced a mind boggling 40 million total players across all platforms. With 1.0 finally here, I'm hoping that number rises exponentially.
The milestone is made even sweeter as it was achieved against a backdrop of agressive attempts from Nintendo and The Pokemon Company to stamp out the game via patent litigation. Though through proactive changes to the game, like reworking the overworld monster catching mechanics and mounting systems, Pocketpair have successfully minimized the scope of the lawsuit (which is still ongoing in Japan). The case now stands to recover damages of equivalent $30,000 as a best case scenario, and is only relevant now to early access builds. Palworld will be entering 1.0 with it's head held high.
Pocketpair have also confirmed that despite the industry standard of Early Access games to bump up their price for a retail launch, Palworld will remain at $29.99.
"We are incredibly proud of how far Palworld has come. Thanks to the amazing support of our players, it has become a success beyond our wildest dreams."
Is Palworld worth a revist if I played at launch?
Palworld is absolutely worth going back to whether you haven't played since 2024, or even the most recent update.
While Pocketpair has confirmed that your old Early Access save files will still work, Bucky and the dev team strongly recommend starting entirely fresh. The early-to-mid-game progression has been completely overhauled to create a seamless, rewarding experience from the ground up.
Here is a breakdown of the biggest changes you can look forward to at launch:
Biome and world changes
- The Sky Island biome: A massive, beautiful floating island region suspended high above the Palpagos archipelago, serving as the focal point for endgame exploration.
- A new Sky Village: A friendly, inhabited settlement tucked away in the clouds of the new biome.
- Revamped map & story: Vast new areas have been stitched into the world, while older regions have received visual reworks and structural improvements.
Pal & System reworks
- Tower boss overhaul: The game's marquee boss encounters have been entirely redesigned with new mechanics and scaling.
- Wildlife Sanctuary remodel: Sanctuaries are now encased in massive, glowing shield bubbles. They are heavily guarded by flying drone-type defenders and prowled by dangerous, powerful bosses.
- Early-game progression: Brand-new Pals have been strategically distributed into the early stages of the game to make the initial leveling journey feel entirely fresh.
Base building upgrades
- Floating foundations: Say goodbye to land constraints; you can now build your structural foundations directly out onto the water.
- Expanded architecture: New roof variants and decorative statues allow for highly customized aesthetic designs.
- Streamlined expedition stations: The station has received a sleek visual redesign to look much less obtrusive when blending it into your custom bases.
New mechanics & gear
- The Wing pack: A traversal tool described as a "jetpack with wings," custom-built to help you navigate the vertical gaps of the Sky Islands.
- The Fish Sword: A hilarious and powerful new combat mechanic where you unsheathe the literal spine of a fish Pal to use as a sword, mirroring Foxparks' famous flamethrower ability.
- Advanced weaponry: A suite of un-named, high-tier weapons for players to craft.
And don't forget the new Pals!
Pocketpair is dropping more new Pals in this single update than in every prior patch combined. Here are the standout creatures and variants confirmed by trailers and community teasers.
- Ahri & The Crazy Dragon Serpent - The newest Sky Island Tower Boss, heavily tied to a massive, serpentine dragon seen in the cinematic trailers.
- Seekmet - Affectionately dubbed "Catgirl Anubis" by the community; a powerful addition to the roster.
- Soul Mora - A sleek fish Pal first teased in a comic strip. It is an exceptionally rapid swimmer that can curiously be ridden at high speeds on dry land.
- Lefan - A martial-arts-themed panda who serves as a direct counterpart to Mossanda.
- Hoodle & The Sleepy Pal - Hoodle looks like a hoodie possessed by a ghost child, and is constantly accompanied by a guardian Pal that looks like it desperately wants to go to sleep at 6:00 PM.
- Venusa - A wonderfully derpy, happy Gorgon/Medusa-themed snake lady.
- Tropica - A flightless, comical raptor-bird hybrid sporting a giant, floppy flower on its head.
- Dupin - A mischievous, rabbit-jester magician creature.
- Puff & Pikmi - Puff is a yappy, electric-type puppy, while Pikmi is a tiny ghost child Pal that lives to jump-scare players.
- Snock - An electric snail Pal, making its official debut after being hidden away as an official comic-strip exclusive.
Other notable additions to watch out for include: a Beetle-themed Egyptian warrior with arm-whips, and a mysterious silhouette waiting at the very top of the World Tree, and I'm sure many more that I've missed..
What time does Palworld 1.0 go live?
The launch drops simultaneously worldwide. Depending on where you live, you'll be jumping in either late tonight or early tomorrow morning. Here are the approximate global release times:
- Los Angeles: 8:30 PM PT (Thursday, July 9)
- New York: 11:30 PM ET (Thursday, July 9)
- London: 4:30 AM BST (Friday, July 10)
- Tokyo: 12:30 PM JST (Friday, July 10)
- Sydney: 1:30 PM AEST (Friday, July 10)
Get your Pal Spheres ready and clear your weekend schedule.
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