Palworld Will "March On" Amid Nintendo Lawsuit

In January 2024 the video game world was abuzz with an early access game. That game was none other than Pocketpair's Palworld. A survival and monster-taming game, it saw over one million players on its early access launch. While some of the initial excitement surrounding Palworld has died down, it's undeniable there is a subset of video game enthusiasts waiting to see what the full game will offer for its official release. During the Tokyo Game Show 2024, Anime News Network attended a press scrum where Pocketpair's Global Community Manager John “Bucky” Buckley addressed different aspects of Palworld's production and future.

One of the fascinating aspects of the Tokyo Game Show is how few major exhibitors feature only one game. Generally, companies like Bandai-Namco, Sega, or Square Enix will have multiple titles to demo and accompanying displays. And while Pocketpair isn't a large studio, their booth rivaled that of their Tokyo Game Show 2024 neighbor, CAPCOM, in scale. Featuring major displays of the Pals from Palworld, cosplayers, and a giant gacha machine, among other smaller displays. To say it was impressive is an understatement. Commenting on the preparation of the booth, Bucky noted several months of planning had gone into it. However, he also said, “We actually did a quite large booth in China in kind of a test run for this, and then we kind of brought some of those assets over to help out.” Those astute fans may have recognized some of the assets if they attended the previous event.

Reporters noted one of the major impressions Palworld has received since its early access launch is its striking similarity to Nintendo's Pokémon. While this is somewhat true, the description “Pokèmon with guns” isn't apt and forgoes many of the survival elements in Palworld. Bucky acknowledged the description but added, “A lot of people come into Palworld for the Pals. I think they very quickly realized the game isn't all [about] that. It's more about survival and adventure. The Pals were just there along the journey with you.” He added, “The idea was always to make a monster collecting game with automation and survival elements. We see it closer to something like Ark or Conan Exiles with a bit more of an involved creature part.”

This raises an issue about what players are to do if they are not interested in the creature capturing or survival elements of Palworld, despite having some interest in the game. Bucky reassured the game would have a wider appeal to players outside of the survival genre of games saying, “Palworld could be a cozy game for a lot of people who don't necessarily want to play a generic, traditional survival game.” For cozy game fans, this could put Palworld into the realm of games such as Stardew Valley or Pikmin 4.

Considering Palworld is still in early access, though, there's a possibility some of the features currently seen in the game won't be present for the official launch, while other features are added. “We're still toying around with PvP,” Bucky stated, “It's hard to kind of crack that one [though].” If implemented, this will be an interesting feature but raises concerns if player vs. player content will be sequestered into its own servers, such as with older versions of World of Warcraft, or included in all multiplayer servers.

On the monetization side, Bucky was adamant about the current price point of US$29.99 (free on Xbox Game Pass). However, there were concerns regarding downloadable content, free-to-play, and even premium seasonal content, such as a battle pass. “As far as actual DLC or expansions go, that's a post-1.0 conversation. At the moment, there are no plans, nothing's in the works.” Bucky continued, “We haven't thought about doing anything like [a battle pass]. Monetization in Palworld is a sensitive topic. And even before we released, we had never thought about it.” This is great news for players, as it forgoes the fear-of-missing-out aspect of popular games in the market.

For as much as the press and fans of Palworld are interested in gameplay features, there was one major question on people's minds: the Nintendo lawsuit. This is an interesting topic, as it can have serious ramifications for the future of Pocketpair and Palworld. It should be noted, though, that information about the lawsuit is limited and, as of the writing of this article, much of the conversation surrounding it is speculation. Bucky also had little to say regarding the lawsuit saying, “We have still heard nothing [from Nintendo],” when asked about specifics about the lawsuit. However, he noted Pocketpair, “[Refuses] for any plans to be changed. We march on,” when asked about any changes to the company's plans moving forward.

The Palworld early access was released on January 19, 2024, and is currently available through Steam and Steam Deck, PS5, and Xbox for US$29.99 (free on Xbox Game Pass). No official release has been announced.