Pocketpair says Palworld has passed 40 million players before version 1.0. Here is where Early Access stands, what is confirmed, and what returning players should watch.
Image: IGDB
Store links: Palworld on Steam, Palworld: Palfarm on Steam
A massive player milestone arrives with one important caveat
Pocketpair says Palworld has now passed 40 million players, a milestone arriving just days before the survival crafting game leaves Early Access with its version 1.0 release on July 10, 2026. In the developer’s announcement, quoted by multiple outlets including GameSpot, Gematsu, and VGChartz, Pocketpair thanked players for their support and said Palworld has grown alongside its community during roughly two and a half years of Early Access.
That headline number is the strongest concrete sign that Palworld has carried meaningful momentum beyond its explosive January 2024 debut. GamingBolt notes that Palworld’s previous publicly reported milestone was more than 32 million players as of February 2025, which places the new figure as a sizable increase during the final stretch of Early Access.
The caveat is equally important for anyone reading the number as a sales figure. GameSpot and IGN both point out that 40 million players does not mean 40 million copies sold. Palworld is available through Xbox Game Pass, and IGN notes that it remains part of the service as Microsoft promotes the 1.0 launch in its July 2026 Game Pass lineup. For Pocketpair, that still represents a huge audience. For players, it means the full launch is not happening in a quiet corner of Steam, but in front of a live, cross-platform community that has already tested the game’s messier edges.
Early Access did not freeze after the viral launch
Palworld first launched in Early Access for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC on January 19, 2024, according to Gematsu and VGChartz, with a PlayStation 5 release following on September 24, 2024. Its first weeks were defined by a rare mix of curiosity, controversy, and raw scale. IGN describes the launch as record-breaking for both sales and concurrent player numbers, while Nerdschalk cites a Steam peak of more than 2.1 million concurrent players.
The sharper question now is whether Pocketpair used Early Access as a runway or as a holding pattern. The update record points to the former. GamingBolt’s recap of Pocketpair’s milestone video lists raid bosses, an arena, collaborations with properties including Terraria, cross-play, the Sakurajima update, an expanded Pal roster, melee combat improvements, and the ability to transfer Pals across worlds among the additions made before 1.0.
That matters because Palworld’s appeal has always lived in the friction between cute creature collection and survival game logistics. A Pal is a companion, a worker, a combat tool, and sometimes the difference between a base that hums and a base that collapses into slapstick. Early Access updates that touch raids, combat, world transfer, and cross-play are not cosmetic in that kind of game. They change how much friction players tolerate when they return after months away.
What Pocketpair has lined up for Palworld 1.0
The Palworld 1.0 release is scheduled for July 10, 2026. Gematsu, citing Pocketpair’s latest details, lists the version 1.0 launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Xbox One, and PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store. GamingBolt reports the same July 10 timing and describes Pocketpair’s 1.0 update as the game’s exit from Early Access.
The full patch notes are not yet available in the provided source material, and that limits what can be treated as final. IGN reports that Pocketpair’s head of publishing and communications, John “Bucky” Buckley, has teased roughly 27 pages of changes and additions. GamingBolt reports that Pocketpair has previously framed 1.0 as its biggest update so far.
The confirmed and reported feature list is broad. GamingBolt’s coverage of Pocketpair’s 1.0 messaging points to offshore base-building, overhauled Sanctuaries, revamped tower bosses, new Pals, weapons, armor, and structures, plus a large new region and an end-game scenario tied to the World Tree. GameSpot also reports that the update includes new Pals, an improved combat system, overhauled raid mechanics, revamped quests, and main story missions intended to reveal more about the world.
For returning players, the important thread is that 1.0 appears aimed at both breadth and structure. New Pals and gear are easy comeback hooks. Revamped quests, tower bosses, Sanctuaries, raids, and a World Tree endgame suggest Pocketpair is also trying to give Palworld a clearer long-term spine after two and a half years of sandbox expansion.
Returning players should check saves, bases, and the patch notes first
The most practical pre-launch detail concerns existing saves. IGN reports that Buckley told current Palworld players they do not need to wipe their data for 1.0, but that they “should.” IGN also quotes him as saying players can continue existing saves if they wish because Pocketpair wants to respect the time and effort already invested.
That creates a real choice, not a hard requirement. If your main attachment is a favorite base, a carefully bred Pal roster, or a co-op world with friends, the cited guidance says you can continue. If your goal is to experience the new progression cleanly, especially with revamped quests, tower bosses, Sanctuaries, raid mechanics, and the end-game World Tree scenario, a fresh save may be the better fit. Until the full patch notes arrive, it is safest to treat the “should” as developer advice rather than a confirmed warning that old worlds will break.
Base builders should pay particular attention. Offshore base-building is one of the major 1.0 additions reported by GamingBolt, while earlier Early Access updates already added systems like Pal transfers across worlds. Palworld is a game where terrain, production lines, raids, pathing, and creature labor all overlap. Any major base-system expansion can change what counts as an efficient home, a defensible outpost, or a convenient co-op hub.
Combat-focused players have a different checklist. GameSpot reports improved combat and overhauled raid mechanics, while GamingBolt lists revamped tower bosses and prior melee improvements. If you left Palworld after exhausting its early boss ladder or bouncing off its combat feel, those are the systems to re-evaluate after July 10 rather than judging 1.0 by the old rhythm.
Price and platform details are mostly clear, with a few listing wrinkles
Pocketpair is not raising Palworld’s price for the 1.0 launch. GameSpot reports that the developer considered a price increase, then announced that Palworld will remain $29.99 after version 1.0. Gematsu also reports, via Pocketpair, that Palworld is on sale on Steam for a limited time at 30 percent off, described by the developer as its lowest price yet.
That pricing decision changes the usual Early Access calculation. Players who already own Palworld do not face an upgrade fee in the cited material, and players who wait until after 1.0 will not be punished by a higher base price according to Pocketpair’s statement reported by GameSpot. The only timing-sensitive factor in the sources is the limited Steam discount.
Platform coverage is broad but worth checking carefully by storefront. Gematsu’s Pocketpair-sourced rundown lists PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Xbox One, and PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store for the July 10 version 1.0 release. VGChartz also lists the original Early Access release across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Game Pass, followed by PS5 in September 2024. GameSpot’s platform sentence says Palworld is currently available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5, omitting Xbox One in that line, while other cited sources include it. Players on older Xbox hardware should use the Microsoft Store listing as the final check before launch day.
There is still no Switch version in the cited reporting. GameSpot notes that Palworld is not available on either Switch platform and connects that absence to Nintendo’s 2024 lawsuit against Pocketpair over patent-infringement accusations. The provided sources do not include any confirmed Switch or Switch 2 release plan.
The legal cloud has not stopped the 1.0 push
Palworld’s road to 1.0 has also been shaped by its proximity to Pokémon discourse. IGN reports that, after Palworld’s launch, some players accused Pocketpair of copying Pokémon designs. IGN further reports that Nintendo and The Pokémon Company pursued a patent-infringement lawsuit rather than a copyright case, seeking 5 million yen from Pocketpair to each plaintiff plus late payment damages and an injunction against Palworld that would block its release. IGN says a judgment is expected later this year.
GameSpot adds that Palworld was updated in 2025 with altered game mechanics due to the legal matter. The provided source material does not establish how that case will end, whether it will affect future content, or whether it has shaped any specific version 1.0 feature beyond the already reported mechanics changes.
For players, the clean separation is this: the lawsuit is real and ongoing in the cited reporting, but Pocketpair is still launching Palworld 1.0 on July 10 for the listed platforms. The legal story remains a risk around the game’s future availability and design direction, while the 40 million-player announcement shows the audience has not waited for the courtroom dust to settle before showing up.
The 1.0 test is whether Palworld can make its chaos feel complete
The Palworld player milestone gives Pocketpair a rare full-launch advantage. Many Early Access survival games arrive at 1.0 trying to win back attention. Palworld arrives with a giant audience already counted, a Game Pass presence, a PS5 version added during development, cross-play in place, and a history of major updates behind it.
The challenge is craft. Palworld’s best moments come from discovery: spotting a new Pal in the wild, realizing a base layout can be automated more elegantly, surviving a raid by inches, or watching a co-op plan dissolve into comedy. Version 1.0 needs to preserve that strange spark while giving lapsed players better reasons to stay after the initial return session.
If you are already deep into Palworld, back up your expectations until the full patch notes arrive and decide whether your existing world is worth preserving over a cleaner 1.0 start. If you bounced off Early Access, the systems to watch are combat, raids, quests, tower bosses, and endgame structure. If you have never played, the current picture is unusually straightforward: the game is leaving Early Access on July 10, the base price is staying at $29.99 according to Pocketpair’s statement reported by GameSpot, and Steam has a limited 30 percent discount reported by Gematsu.
Forty million players is a massive number, but Palworld 1.0 will be judged by something smaller and harder: whether the next Pal you catch, the next base you build, and the next boss you chase feel sharper than they did in Early Access.