The brand-new controversial Pokémon clone Palworld has just released on PC and console, and it’s already proven extremely popular. On Steam alone, the game currently has over 350,000 players.
At the time of writing, Steam tracker website Steam Charts reports that the Palworld player count is resting at over 367,000 players. Steadily climbing since its midnight launch, this likely won’t be the highest player count we see for the game.
Most impressively, Palworld has over 300,000 Steam players despite launching in Xbox Game Pass. On PC and Xbox, gamers can play the game for no additional fee if they have an Xbox Game Pass subscription. However, those playing the game on Steam have paid full price for the monster collecting title.
Palworld is currently an exclusive title on Xbox One, Xbox Series and PC in its early access state. While the game will likely come to other platforms — namely a Palworld PS5 port or Palworld Switch version — in the future, it’ll remain only on these platforms for the foreseeable future.
Alongside its weird horny lore, Palworld has been praised for its evolutions over its clear Pokémon inspiration. Of course, you can fill out a complete Paldeck, and can even assign the best Pal Jobs to your creatures. However, it’s also a survival game at heart, and one where you can ride Pals across its stunning environments.
In our review of the game, we praised the game for being more than the sum of its parts. While it’s been largely perceived as a Pokémon clone, we appreciated its fun gameplay loop and cute creatures.
“Palworld is a Frankenstein's monster of ideas, mostly inspired by Nintendo's franchises like Pokemon and the recent Zelda games,” said our reviewer Callum Self. “However, it feels like a refreshing take on the survival genre, with the only issues being an overwhelming and lengthy core game loop that may discourage some players.”
Palworld is currently available to play on Xbox and PC either for a cost or via an Xbox Game Pass subscription.