Palworld, the unique ‘Pokémon with guns’ survival game, has already sold an impressive 1 million copies within hours of its early access launch on Steam and Xbox Series X/S, according to developer Pocketpair.
The game combines creature catching, open-world survival, and crafting, allowing players to exploit or consume their Pals for more efficient task completion.
Despite its success, the lack of 32-player dedicated servers on Xbox and PC Game Pass has been acknowledged by Pocketpair, who stated that the situation is beyond their control.
Pocketpair took to social media to announce the game’s significant achievement, highlighting the remarkable sales figure of 1 million copies sold in about eight hours since release. Notably, Palworld’s inclusion in Game Pass on its first day allows a large player base to access the game without direct purchases.
As of now, Palworld stands as the top-selling game on Steam, with over 370,000 players actively engaged, making it the third most-played title on the platform.
The overwhelming success has resulted in launch-day server challenges, with Pocketpair cautioning players about potential instability and connection issues due to the influx of players.
The server-related concerns extend to multiplayer functionality, with Steam users able to join dedicated servers with up to 32 players, while Xbox users are limited to 2-4 player co-op.
Pocketpair acknowledged this limitation on Palworld’s official Discord channel, expressing a desire for dedicated servers on Xbox but noting the difficulty in negotiating this at the present time. Crossplay between Xbox and “Xbox PC” is currently available, with the studio working on introducing crossplay with Steam.
Despite these early access launch issues, Eurogamer’s Zoe Delahunty-Light, a self-proclaimed fan of Palworld, emphasizes that the game provides an enjoyable experience.
While acknowledging imperfections such as underwhelming dungeons and a lack of quests, she notes that these issues become less prominent during gameplay. Palworld is expected to remain in early access for at least a year, allowing ample time for further improvements.
