We’re only a few weeks into 2024 and there’s already a new game taking the world by storm – Palworld. The game – developed by Pocketpair Inc. – lets players survive the elements and explore a vast landscape inhabited by creatures called Pals. As players capture Pals, they can use their distinct abilities for base-building, traversal, and combat. Now, if this sounds like a very popular Nintendo franchise, you wouldn’t be wrong. However, Palworld gives players the ability to equip their characters and Pals with firearms – which has earned the game the moniker of “Pokémon with guns.” While the similarities to Pokémon might make Palworld seem like some cheap knockoff that no one would look twice at, it has triumphantly exploded onto the gaming scene.  

Despite the game currently being in “early access,” it’s earned some very solid reviews from critics and players that praise the concept and sheer fun of the gameplay. However, there are also criticisms surrounding the Pal designs and the current quality of the experience. But the game’s backbone is so sound that players have been flocking to Palworld in droves — making it one of the most popular games on Steam of all time in a matter of days.

There’s no denying that Palworld is the first breakout hit of 2024 and could have the legs and support to be around for a long time. Still though, fame is fleeting and the time to capitalize on this incredible achievement is fading fast. So, let’s look at some of the ways Pocketpair can continue to make Palworld an immense success for the foreseeable future.

Connect with their audience

No one could’ve predicted that Palworld would’ve amassed a player base of millions within days of its initial launch. But at the time of writing, Palworld has sold over 7 million copies and has an audience that most games dream of. Now though, they need to maintain this new relationship with their fans. Good communication is key to keeping players around and making them knowledgeable about what’s happening with their favorite games. Pocketpair remaining active on social media will help them stay connected, but it won’t exactly be easy. Remember, the studio isn’t exactly huge. So, they’ll have to learn to market on the fly and/or expand their marketing department to reflect the community they’ve rapidly accumulated.

Thankfully though, they’re already doing a great job communicating with fans. On X (formerly known as Twitter), Pocketpair has been heavily talking with their audience about updates, accomplishments, and content highlights through the game’s account — @Palworld_EN. So, they’re already showing signs that they’re more than capable of keeping the Palworld community in the loop.

Make a plan

Although Palworld is still in early access, Pocketpair should establish some type of content roadmap that sets an expectation. Despite the game only being out for a couple days, players are already wondering when more content is coming down the pipeline. While it’s understandable that Pocketpair might not be prepared for that considering they didn’t expect this many players at launch, a roadmap will help temper expectations. It gives players things to be excited about for the game’s future and institutes a plan that the development team can work with.

Oddly enough, Pocketpair is already ahead of the curve when it comes to developing a content roadmap. Recently, they posted a detailed plan (see below) that discusses the bugs they’re looking to fix and some of the content they’re looking to add – including PvP, Boss Raids, and crossplay. Pocketpair clearly knows that Palworld is something special and it’s awesome that they’re already taking steps to ensure that the game’s future looks bright.

Differentiate Palworld more

Before Palworld can truly move forward in its development, the uncomfortable elephant in the room needs to be addressed. Ever since the game launched, Palworld and Pocketpair were accused of plagiarism. Despite some clear inspiration from Pokémon and some notable design similarities with the Pals, there’s currently no definitive evidence that Pocketpair stole assets or directly ripped off Nintendo or the Pokémon franchise. Yet, this controversy has grown immensely – resulting in undeserved threats to Pocketpair’s staff from disgruntled fans. Now, it is worth noting that the game’s survival mechanics do differentiate it enough from Pokémon to stand on its own, and to be fair, the visual similarities to Pokémon are a part of its charm. After all, it’s the biggest reason why Palworld caught the attention of the gaming community in the first place.

But Pocketpair doesn’t want this issue to persist as they continue to develop the game. So, perhaps they should really try to include new Pal designs that don’t inherently resemble Pokémon. It would certainly help distinguish a stronger identity for Palworld and quell these negative allegations that aren’t going away anytime soon.

Expand their platform reach

Palworlds is an instant sensation on Steam and broken a mind-blowing number of sales records for the platform. Not to mention, its inclusion on Xbox Game Pass brings a whole new audience to the game and is a huge win for the thriving service. Palworlds could certainly survive and evolve just staying on these two platforms while in early access, but there’s still more it can do. Once the game elevates to a full version, Pocketpair should highly consider putting the game on other platforms like PS5, Nintendo Switch, and maybe even Netflix.

If Palworlds can amass millions of players while only existing on a couple of platforms, imagine what it could do once it expands. The game’s base could easily add millions upon millions of players in an instant and an entirely new titan of the gaming industry could be established. When the day comes for Pocketpair to take Palworlds to new places, Fortnite better watch its back.