Palworld developer Pocketpair has revealed that while it accepts the survival game’s most devoted fans may want “a decade of continuous, massive updates,” “there’s only so many times” you can add in new levels and content before the game gets bloated.”
“A lot of our hardcore fans and players would love for Palworld to be this No Man’s Sky situation where it’s like a decade of continuous, massive updates. But realistically, that’s probably not on the cards for Palworld, not only because of engine limitations, but also, it’s a survival crafting game,” publishing head John Buckley told GameRadar+. “I think there’s only so many times you can add five levels, add 10 levels, until it gets to this massive bloat point.
“Even World of Warcraft had that stat squish years and years ago,” he added. “Palworld is linear progression. I think if Palworld didn’t have that progression, you could do it forever like No Man’s Sky. But it’s gonna have to stop at some point, and then we can think about what comes after, and that’s exciting for us.”
He also stressed that with the long-awaited 1.0 release on the way, “greatly expand[ing]” the content, at some point, it could feel like a “chore” to play, especially for newer or more casual players.
“How much more can you stretch that until it gets to the point where more casual players feel like it’s a chore? That’s where it gets tricky with 2.0. And we get into the big debate of, do you continue to expand Palworld and find a way to mitigate those problems? Or do you start thinking about — I won’t say the word because I don’t want to speak it into existence — something beyond Palworld?”
Buckley did, however, tease that he “wouldn’t rule out a Palworld 2.0.”
“I wouldn’t rule out a Palworld 2.0. It really depends on what we can do with the game at the moment, how we can expand it without it feeling boring. Not only boring, but how we can expand it while also being approachable.
“We still have to start thinking about what comes next eventually.”
Palworld is a multiplayer, open-world, survival crafting game where you can befriend and collect mysterious creatures called “Pal” in a vast world. We gave it a Great 8 in IGN’s Palworld review. “Palworld may crib quite a bit from Pokémon’s homework, but deep survival mechanics and a hilarious attitude make it hard to put down — even in Early Access,” we wrote when it released in early 2024.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
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