Pocketpair, the independent publisher behind the controversial game, Palworld, is still going strong. Announcing that it’s finally going to hit v1.0 in a matter of days, on July 10th 2026.
Released in 2024 to a significant furore amidst discussions of excellent gameplay, rocky launch, and of course some parallels drawn to Pokemon. We played it at launch, understood what it was about, enjoyed it, but fell off quite quickly.
Since then Palworld has seen a whole host of update and improvements, and well. Would we be a good site, supporting independent studios if we didn’t go back and try to champion the ongoing work? Absolutely not.
So, here’s the beginning of a new journey into Palworld. Timed perfectly with the game going to a full version 1.0.
Palworld 1.0
It’s hard to believe it’s been over two years since Palworld absolutely took over the internet, selling a staggering 7 million copies in its first five days of Early Access.
If you’ve been wondering when Pocketpair would finally drop the provisional licence and roll out the red carpet for a full launch, we finally have our answer.
During Summer Game Fest, Pocketpair officially confirmed that Palworld 1.0 will launch on July 10, 2026.
Welcome to the World Tree
The massive cinematic trailer gave us our first look at what version 1.0 brings to the table. Most notably, players will finally get to cross the barrier and explore the World Tree.
A massive, mysterious landmark that has loomed teasingly in the distance since day one.
Pocketpair is pitching this and its surrounding environments as a definitive endgame zone.
Naturally, a massive map expansion means new creatures to hunt, tame, and… put to work. While many are still unnamed, a few highlights from the trailer include:
- Dupin: The first officially named addition, revealed via social media. It’s a jester-style, black-and-white cat Pal that looks heavily like a Dark-type trickster.
- The “Sword Eel”: A fascinating new Water-type utility Pal that players can actually unsheathe and wield directly as a literal serrated sword.
- A Giant Sky Dragon: A gorgeous, serpentine Loong-style dragon that looks like a major boss encounter.
- The World Tree Guardian: A towering, massive entity with tentacle-like arms shown guarding the endgame area at the very end of the trailer.
We barely scratched the surface of the game 2 years ago, so there are so many new Palworld monsters to find anyway. It’s actually going to be pretty exciting!
A fresh start
With Pocketpair promising a massive overhaul to core mechanics and balance systems, the community’s biggest question was immediately answered: No, your saves will not be deleted.
You can absolutely boot up your 1.0 game and keep playing on your existing world. However, the developers strongly recommend starting fresh to experience the fully rebalanced progression loop.
If you do choose to build a new world from scratch, you don’t have to leave your hard-earned monsters behind. Thanks to a new Global Palbox feature, you’ll be able to transfer your favourite tamed Pals seamlessly into your brand-new 1.0 saves.
Time will tell
We’re really having a blast playing Empulse on the daily. Now a game like Palworld to start again and learn, then dive in-to, feels really exciting.
There’s so much to go at that we’ve missed in two years of updates, anyway. Now with the new 1.0 upgrade and expansion. It feels that we’re basically going to have a brand new 2 year old game to play. What more can you ask of your existing library?!
Previously is felt a bit janky and hard to truly engage with. But that’s more on us for not sticking with it. Hopes are high that Palworld is now a more refined and accessible experience. Seeing all the automation farms people set-up in the early days makes me want to get to that level.
July sure is shaping up to be one heck of a month for gaming!
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