Pocketpair, the developer behind Palworld and renowned for their previous title Craftopia, is likely basking in a moment of great achievement. Their newest venture, often likened to a ‘Pokémon with guns’ survival crafting game, has taken the gaming world by storm, dominating the Steam charts and setting unprecedented records. Within a remarkably short span since its launch last Friday, Palworld has sold over one million units in just eight hours, followed by an astounding two million in twenty-four hours, and an impressive three million within forty hours.
Moreover, Palworld has surpassed the milestone of one million concurrent players on Steam, outshining FromSoftware’s Elden Ring and securing the sixth spot on the all-time chart. The game is poised to surpass the concurrent player record set by CD Projekt RED’s Cyberpunk 2077, which peaked at 1.054 million players. Pocketpair’s creation stands a strong chance of entering the Top 5, marking a significant achievement and establishing Palworld as a premium game leader on this prestigious chart. Notably, the top-ranking titles like PUBG: Battlegrounds, Counter-Strike 2, Lost Ark, and Dota 2 are all free-to-play games. PUBG: Battlegrounds notably set a record of 3.25 million concurrent users six years ago during the Battle Royale craze.
Palworld’s reach extends beyond Steam, as players can also enjoy the game on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S|X through the Microsoft Store’s Game Preview program. While Palworld is part of the Game Pass library, the version available lacks the 32-player dedicated server feature. Although crossplay between Xbox and Steam is currently unavailable, the developers are actively striving to implement this feature. Additionally, there are plans to potentially introduce a PlayStation 5 port in the future. The integration of modding capabilities into Palworld, leveraging Unreal Engine 5, is anticipated post the game’s full release, with an estimated minimum of one year for the early access phase.
The player feedback for Palworld has been overwhelmingly positive, with an impressive 93% satisfaction rate out of 24K user reviews on Steam. However, concerns have been raised by some regarding the similarities between monster designs in Palworld and those of Pokémon. Speculations have surfaced suggesting the use of generative AI for the artwork creation, though these claims currently lack concrete evidence.
