Palworld Breaks Bank on Steam. Millions Waiting for PvP Modes and New Content
7 million players have bought Palworld on Steam alone. Many of them are waiting for the developers to add new content, more features and PvP gameplay.
After beating another giant, the new game from Pocketpair studio continues its triumphal march. 7 million copies of Palworld were purchased in 5 days, which the devs eagerly boasted about on social media.
Palworld is chasing Pokemon
Some players were curious about the real significance of the "millions" of copies purchased in the previous statistics. This time, Geoff Keighley stepped in to confirm with the developers that the 7 million figure is the result of the game's performance on Steam alone, excluding Xbox and Game Pass, of course. According to the journalist, this implies that Pocketpair made around $189 million in revenue from selling the game exclusively on Valve's platform (via X).
If you need context on how monumental this result is, then here it is - the warmly received spin-off Pokemon Legends: Arceus took a week to sold 6.5 million copies (via Nintendo). However, the last duo of the main Pokemon series achieved sales of 10 million copies in 3 days, which is a record for the whole series (via Nintendo).
7 million players catch/beat/eat creatures in Palworld.Source: Pocketpair on X.
It's important to remember that Pokemon Violet / Pokemon Scarlet are essentially two exclusive titles (or their variations) for a single console and they are part of one of the most popular game franchises of all time. Meanwhile, Palworld is a game of a relatively small studio and, as mentioned, it has also been released on Xbox. On top of that, it has been available to subscribers of the Xbox Game Pass since launch day.
Nevertheless, the game is doing exceptionally well, with sales surpassing those of many high-budget titles, making it the second most popular game in the history of Steam. It's even more impressive considering that we are discussing a game in early access, although well-polished.
Palworld improved by devs and fans
Takeru Mizobe, CEO of Pocketpair, estimates that Palworld is approximately 60% finished (via Automaton). The game has essentially all the "basic functions," and this time the developers know what their new title should be. Now they have to focus on "improving" the game. The CEO also mentioned that the team's current task is to come up with a way to add new content and features, including PvP gameplay options.
"This time" refers to the work on Craftopia, a previous game by Pocketpair. Fans of this game started leaving negative reviews on the game's Steam page, accusing the developers of abandoning it, right after the announcement of Palworld. The first update since December has just been released today, but it's more of a minor hotfix than a significant upgrade.
Other fans aren't comforted by the fact that two separate teams are supposed to work on both titles, as some players point out. They draw attention to both the lack of updates and a certain "identity crisis" - and this second problem seems to be confirmed by Mizobe's comment.
Naturally, as is often the case with PCs, the game is already being improved and "enhanced" by modders. The list of the mods is slowly growing, despite the lack of Steam Workshop support. However, the Nexus Mods website is worried about a certain type of mods - those that introduce Pokemon.
Pokemon in Palworld? Nexus Mods: it's too much of a risk
You've likely heard about the initial project of this kind - its teaser was swiftly taken down from the internet, along with the complete video showcasing Pokemon in Palworld. The mod hasn't yet reached a wider audience.
So it's no surprise that the people running Nexus Mods have some concerns. Matthew Elliot, leader of the community centered around this website, disclosed (via PCGamesN) that they're enthusiastic about the possibility of adding Pokemon to Palworld, but the potential "legal" repercussions are too significant for the Nexus Mods team to take the risk of featuring such mods on the site.
The statement confirms a previous rumor about the popular website removing Pokemon related mods.
Catching bosses exploit
Of course, Palworld is far from being polished, even without any legal issues (including accusations of plagiarism). Some bugs are present in the game, but not all of them affect the players. Fans discovered an exploit that allows catching bosses: both such huge creatures and their trainers.
The trick isn't overly complicated.
- The player must gain the status of being pursued (for example by attacking an NPC), until they are chased by members of the PIDF Guard (the local equivalent of the police), and then proceed to the tower with the boss they are interested in. Make sure you are still being chased!
- Guards will continue to chase our character in the tower area. The player must try to lead them to the boss arena and avoid attacking the boss. You should maneuver in such a way that one of the PIDF Guards hits the creature.
- After a while, all the opponents should cease their movement, allowing the player to throw the Pal Sphere at the boss. The game states that the chance of catching him is "0%," but in reality it's guaranteed.
The exploit has been tested by a few players (via Reddit / TikTok) and industry websites, confirming that the bosses in the character's possession remain stronger than their ordinary counterparts. For now, this bug hasn't been fixed, although this will probably change with the arrival of one of the first updates.
