Palworld 1.0 is here: what changes after 2 and a half years of early access

It's done. Palworld has exited Early Access on July 10, 2026 , and it's not just an anecdotal update. Pocketpair has released 27 pages of patch notes , 72 new Pals, two entire zones, and a complete overhaul of the endgame. Two and a half years after the phenomenal buzz of January 2024 — 2 million simultaneous players on Steam, do you remember — the Japanese studio finally delivers its definitive version.

And obviously, the players validate. 855,000 simultaneous players on Steam on July 12, reviews at 92% positives , and 40 million players combined on all platforms. Not bad for a game that Nintendo wanted to bury.

We go through everything that is changing.

The roster goes from 215 to 287 Pals Among the new ones: a fire dragon, a sword eel that you can literally equip as a weapon, a giant whale, and a tree guardian that serves as the final boss. Each new Pal integrates into the existing breeding system, exploding the number of possible combinations.

The level cap goes up to 80 (against 65 before), with an expanded tree of technologies to unlock new equipment and structures. It's not just a higher number — there is real content behind each level.

Two new systems are changing the game for livestock farming:

• Awakening — you use Radiant Gems (only found at the World Tree) to boost your Pals beyond their normal stats. This is the endgame power-up.
• Mutation — Breeding can now produce mutated Pals with superior stats and a unique passive skill. No more identical clones, each litter can surprise.
• Genetic recombination — the big piece: you cross legendary Pals to create variants with inherited abilities. Min-maxing has just reached a new level.

Sunreach , it's the archipelago of floating islands that could be seen in the distance since the launch. Accessible from level 58 via the Feybreak Tower, it's a mid-to-late game area with its own tower bosses, exclusive Pals, and a new ore — Soralite — to craft the best weapons in the game.

To access it, you have to defeat Bjorn & Bastigor at the Feybreak Tower, then deactivate six defense modules spread across the islands. The Wing Pack — a new glider added in 1.0 — is almost mandatory to navigate between the platforms without falling into the void.

And then there is the World Tree . The giant tree visible from day one, behind a red barrier that no one could cross. It is now the ultimate endgame zone, with level 80 enemies, a radiation zone that requires a gas mask, and the final boss of the game — Zenara & Astralym This is a Pal exclusive to this area, impossible to find elsewhere.

Important detail: to harvest Paloxite and Mythical Wood at the World Tree, you must apply Holy Water to your character and your active Pal. Without it, the materials disappear on contact. Pocketpair likes slightly twisted mechanics, evidently.

The tower boss have been completely reworked. Timer reduced to 5 minutes (from 10), new arenas, new mechanics. And above all: the bosses are now recruitable . You defeat a tower boss, you can capture it. It changes the motivation to redo the towers, clearly.

The raids on your base have also been redone in successive waves mode. A negotiator lands and can cancel a raid for gold — so you have to choose between your money and your peace of mind. Bases with a Gold Coin Assembly Line attract a special event.

13 new weapons land, including a mechanical bow, a beam launcher, and the famous Wing Pack which serves as much as a glider as an aerial combat tool. The Work Suitability system goes from 4 to 10 levels, reducing the number of copies needed for condensation from 116 to 48. Pals' closers will appreciate.

On the PvP side, it's official: a full player versus player mode is integrated. Not a mod, not a custom server — it's in the base game.

On July 10, launch day, Palworld 1.0 attracted 472,769 simultaneous players on Steam. Two days later, the peak was reached 855 525 . It's the Steam record of 2026, and it places the game in the top 15 of the biggest launches in the history of the platform — just below Baldur's Gate 3.

We are far from the absolute record of Early Access (2.1 million in January 2024), but the context is different. At the time, it was a total surprise effect. Here, the 40 million existing players know what to expect. And 92% positive reviews on over 5,000 recent reviews, that speaks.

The game is currently 2nd in global sales on Steam The update 1.0 is free for all those who owned the game in Early Access. Pocketpair confirmed that they will not raise the price — $29.99 as on the first day. On Game Pass, it's included directly.

We talk about it because it's the elephant in the room. Nintendo and The Pokémon Company sued Pocketpair in September 2024 for patent infringement. The result? The trial is falling apart.

In November 2025, Nintendo restricted its complaints to old versions of the game — those before the patches that removed the contested mechanics. The current version and 1.0 are not even affected. The damages are limited to sales in Japan only , which represents a tiny fraction of the overall figure.

According to intellectual property expert Florian Müller, the maximum Nintendo could get is around 30,000 dollars . Thirty thousand. For a trial that would have cost 40 million in legal fees. The final verdict is expected on November 9, 2026, but at this stage, it is a non-event for Pocketpair.

In short, Palworld 1.0 is being released quietly, without any real legal threat.

The game remains greedy in RAM — 32 GB minimum recommended officially, which is rare. The CPU counts a lot because of the AI and physics calculations of the Pals. Here are the specs:

• Minimum : i5-3570K, GTX 1050, 16GB RAM, 40GB SSD
• Recommended (1080p) : i9-9900K / Ryzen 5 5600X, RTX 2070 / RTX 3060 Ti, 32 GB RAM
• Optimal (1440p+) : Ryzen 7 7800X3D, RTX 4070 Ti, 32GB DDR5
• 4K 60 FPS : Ryzen 7 7800X3D, RTX 4080 SUPER, 32GB DDR5

A piece of advice: the developers strongly recommend start from a new backup for version 1.0, even if it's not mandatory. The changes are so profound that old saves may bug or create progression inconsistencies.

Yes. On all platforms, the update is free for Early Access owners. The price remains at $29.99 for new buyers.

PC (Steam, Microsoft Store), PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Game Pass. No confirmed Switch 2 version for now.

Pocketpair strongly recommends it but it is not mandatory. The mechanics have changed so much that starting over gives a better experience. Existing backups work but may have issues.

No. The trial only concerns old versions and sales in Japan only. Version 1.0 is not concerned. The final verdict is expected in November 2026.

Yes, crossplay is supported between platforms. Server clustering also improves stability in multiplayer.

Palworld in Early Access was a crazy concept driven by buzz and decent execution. Palworld 1.0 is a real finished game. Two new massive areas, an endgame that holds up with Awakening and Mutations, 72 additional Pals, PvP, and a redesign of almost every system. All this without a price increase.

855,000 simultaneous players and 92% positive on Steam, it confirms that Pocketpair has delivered. Does it deserve to restart a game from scratch? Honestly, yes. The game has little to do with the January 2024 version.

And if Nintendo wanted to kill Palworld, it failed.