Palworld proves haters wrong as it hits another milestone
Say what you want about Pocket Pair's Palworld, but we've got to hand it to this plucky Pokemon-inspired monster-catcher, it's got a right pair of Voltorbs on it. Taking on the might of Nintendo and The Pokemon Company as "Pokemon with guns" is no mean feat, and as the legal vultures still swarm, Palworld is standing strong.
If threats of legal action weren't enough, Palworld has been caught in a maelstrom of AI accusations, claims it's straight-up ripped-off Pokemon designs, and a fall from grace at the top of Steam. Now, as the open-world shooter celebrates its two-month anniversary, the future is looking rosier than a Bristla.
Palworld defies critics with its player count
Considering Pocket Pair CEO Takuro Mizobe thinks it's a "miracle" that Palworld even exists, it continues to prove haters wrong. As pointed out on the Palworld subreddit, the game's two-month anniversary is still boasting some healthy player numbers. At the time of writing, there are 70,784 players in-game right now.
Palworld is just outside of the Top 10 most-player games (sitting at No. 11), but with a 24-hour peak of 112,381, it'll easily jump back in. With the upcoming introduction of raids and a brand-new Pal in the form of Bellanoir, expect a massive spike with the next big update.
Either way, Palworld's ongoing success proves it has the potential to stand the test of time. The team doesn't seem worried about the player drop-off, and to be boasting over 100,000 players at this point is still nothing to be scoffed at. One player cheered, "I can’t find it in me to play anything else besides this game right now."
Others are impressed with Palworld's sense of community, as another supporter wrote, "All those people saying the game wouldn't last more than a month must be feeling pretty stupid right now." Someone else concluded, "Considering there hasn't been a major update since release, it's pretty impressive. Hoping to see at least 2-3 big updates this year."
This is just the start of Palworld
Click to enlargePocket Pair has been clever with Palworld, and instead of locking itself into a rigid roadmap, has simply promised upcoming features like new islands, Pals, and QoL improvements. The big one will be the release of Palworld PvP, but for now, it feels like we're in a bit of a slump.
Palworld has landed at a pretty lucrative time, and it's a major shakeup to the industry that unexpected titles like Palworld and Helldivers 2 are wiping the floor with AAA releases. One Palworld player even suggested this could be the live-service answer to Pokemon. After all, there's a Pokemon-shaped hole in 2024.
Even though Palworld will always have its critics, it remains the plucky little upstart that defies expectations. It's not every day an indie game can lure in over 100,000 players without a major update, but whether Palworld can stand the test of time remains to be seen.
