You have to be living under a rock, if you haven’t yet heard about Palworld. At the moment, it is probably the most popular video game that has truly taken the gaming world by storm. The game was initially revealed, back in 2021, and in that very moment, it was clear that it is just like Pokémon, but with guns. Fast-forward to about 2.5 years later, and now we’re getting to see and play the game in all its glory, and it’s safe to say, the game is everything that people were expecting it to be, and much, much more.
Palworld is a survival game, where the players have to, well, survive in the wild, that is an open-world populated with creatures called ‘Pals’. The players can fight these creatures, capture them using a ball, and eventually tame them, so that they can help the players in building their bases, and guarding them (using weapons).
The ‘Pals’ angle of the video game is very much similar to the 90s Japanese Video Game Pokémon, and that is exactly why it is being touted as ‘Pokémon with Guns’.
When was Palworld released?
Palworld was released on 19th January 2024, through Steam Early Access on Microsoft Windows, and Xbox Game Preview on the Microsoft Xbox. The terms ‘Early Access’ and ‘Game Preview’, essentially mean that the game isn’t a finished product, and while gamers are getting to buy and play it on their machine of choice, developers are still building some aspects of the game. So, it isn’t a finished game, by any means, yet it works pretty well, for the most part.
What do Players do in the game?
The players start off in a rather safe location with a bunch of harmless, and rather cute pals roaming around, and that is where the players set base for the first time, and start crafting weapons and Pal Spheres, the device that is used to catch Pals, and other players (we’ll get to this in a while).
The sheer range of activities that are available for players to do, in the game, is mind-numbing, and right from building a foolproof castle, to creating new species of pals, by breeding different pals, mostly anything is possible, in Palworld, and that is exactly why, the game is such a hit, in such a short time, breaking so many records.
What are Pals in Palworld?
Pals are simply the creatures that live in the open-world of the game. Virtually you can catch, tame and breed all the Pals, but realistically, it highly depends on your level, gear and skill in the game, how many what all Pals you can catch.
Once caught, you can use your Pals’s help for a number of things, such as building your base, hunting, and much more.
What all Records has Palworld Broken?
Right from the moment of its release, the general reception has been positive, with players around the world having a blast, with it. And, that shows in the numbers, since the game managed to sell 1 million copies in just 8 hours of its release, according to Palworld’s official X (Twitter) account.
In the following days, the game kept selling in huge numbers, and a little less than 2 weeks later, on 31st January, Xbox too released its numbers, standing at 7 million, with the total sales of Palworld at 19 million copies, worldwide, as shared by the official Palworld X (Twitter) account.
Not to mention, Palworld also proudly holds the record for the 2nd-highest all-time concurrent player peak, as of the day this article was published.
What platforms is Palworld available on?
As mentioned earlier, Pocketpair has released the game only on Steam, Microsoft Store and Xbox Game Pass, hence as of now, the game can only run on Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Xbox.
Do note that only the Microsoft Xbox One and Series X and S support Palworld.
Microsoft Windows or PC gamers have the option to either buy the game from Steam, or from the Microsoft Store, or play it for free as part of their Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Subscription.
While, the Microsoft Xbox players, can only buy it from the Microsoft Store, or play it for free as part of their Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Subscription.
We believe that Palworld Xbox Game Pass release is a win for the gamers, since in order to play the game in co-op anyway you would need Xbox Game Pass Core (previously Live Gold), and it comes bundled in the Game Pass Ultimate, by default.
Apart from the above-mentioned platforms, Palworld isn’t currently available to play on any other platforms. However, that doesn’t mean the game won’t come to other platforms in the future. We’ve written an in-depth article talking about Palworld, and its future on all gaming platforms.
Oh! Did you know, technically, you can get Palworld for Mac, as well? We’ve written an in-depth article on the process.
Palworld System Requirements
While Palworld is an open-world game, it isn’t very graphic intensive, since the graphics are mostly cartoon-ish (think The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild). So, the minimum system requirements for the Palworld on PC are fairly low.
So, running the game on a budget PC isn’t impossible, but still we would say that running it on better hardware would give a much better experience, overall.
Palworld Minimum System Requirements for PC Players
- Operating System: Windows 10 or later (64-bit)
- Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz
- RAM: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 (2GB VRAM)
- DirectX: Version 11
- Network: Internet Connection for Multiplayer or Co-op
- Space on Disk: 40 GB
Palworld Recommended System Requirements for PC Players
- Operating System: Windows 10 or later (64-Bit)
- Processor: Intel Core i9-9900K 3.6 GHz or AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz
- RAM: 32 GB RAM
- Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 (8GB VRAM)
- DirectX: Version 11
- Network: Internet Connection for Multiplayer or Co-op
- Space on Disk: 40 GB
Is Palworld Multiplayer or Co-op?
Yes, Palworld does support co-op. You can play with up to 4 friends in the online co-op mode on your Windows PC (Steam version) or Xbox Console (Microsoft Store or Xbox Game Pass version).
But, the Steam version has a leg up: it supports dedicated servers. So if you decide to create one for you and your friends, a total of 32 people can play together. And, that is very cool.
Controversies
As popular and loved as Palworld is, it has also been a matter of concern for players and other gaming studios alike. First and foremost being Nintendo, the Japanese multinational video game company, that is behind the Pokémon games. While Nintendo hasn’t taken any action against Pocketpair, they recently released a statement, after receiving a number of inquiries on Palworld, and its eerie similarity to Pokémon.
Nintendo Director, didn’t directly name anyone, but has said that they will investigate the IP infringement angle. He has also assured that they will take appropriate action against those that infringe their intellectual property rights.
If you actually want to see how similar some Pals are to some Pokémons, Cecilia Fae on X (Twitter) has created a thread, listing them all. Take a look:
Ethical Concerns
One of the very interesting features of Palworld is the ability to catch Pals, just like Pokémon. But, here you can use, or rather employ them for various purposes, such as helping with building and maintaining the base, hunting, breeding, and whatnot. But, it doesn’t stop here. Pocketpair decided to take a dark turn here, allowing players to catch humans, basically NPCs as well. Then the players can harvest their body parts to sell on the black market.
The other concern that most players have is regarding animal cruelty in the game. The players can kill Pals to eat them. Following this, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) released a statement. In the statement, they highlighted the need for a ‘vegan’ guide for Palworld.
PETA, back in 2020, actually did once create a vegan guide for Animal Crossing: New Horizon.
After PETA released its statement, Game Sandwich, a gaming news website, took matters in its hands, and created a vegan guide for Palworld. You can check it out here.
