Palworld has crossed 40 million players, developer Pocketpair confirmed on Wednesday, capping a two-and-a-half-year early access run two days before the full 1.0 launch. The studio shared the milestone in an official Steam news post alongside a commemorative video looking back at the game's journey since its January 2024 debut.
The open-world survival-crafting game launched in Early Access on January 19, 2024, and became an instant phenomenon. Its blend of creature collection, base building, automation, and third-person combat attracted millions within days, making it one of the fastest-selling games on Steam. Palworld sold over 5 million copies in its first week and peaked at more than 2 million concurrent players, a record for a paid game on the platform. Pocketpair has since released dozens of updates adding new islands, Pals, raids, and quality-of-life features that gradually expanded the scope of the experience.
The 40-million-player figure covers Steam, Xbox, and other platforms where Palworld is available. Pocketpair confirmed in January 2025 that the game had sold over 25 million copies across Steam and Xbox alone, and the player count has continued climbing as new content updates and platform releases brought in fresh audiences. The game's recent launch on Nintendo Switch in late 2024 gave it another significant wave of exposure.
Now all eyes are on July 10, when Palworld finally exits early access with version 1.0. Pocketpair first announced the date in early June with a cinematic trailer that gave players their first look at the scope of the full release. The update is free for all existing owners.
According to early previews from content creators who have had access to the build, 1.0 represents a substantial overhaul rather than a simple content drop. The update introduces a narrative-driven campaign with structured story missions, replacing the largely freeform early access structure that asked players to set their own objectives. A revamped progression system adjusts the levelling curve to better pace the game across its full runtime, making sure new abilities and challenges arrive at a steady cadence. The previously inaccessible World Tree at the centre of the map becomes an explorable region with its own content and story beats, giving endgame players a clear destination to work toward. An offshore base building system expands construction options beyond existing land-based plots, while new traversal tools including a wing pack give players more ways to move across the archipelago. A Tower Boss named Auri joins the roster alongside multiple new Pals. The early game has also been tuned to offer a smoother onboarding experience, addressing one of the most consistent community requests since launch.
The scope of 1.0 reflects how much Palworld has evolved from its initial Early Access release. What began as a surprisingly polished but content-light survival game now includes dedicated servers, cross-platform play, a full raid system, PvP arenas, and a map that has more than doubled in size since launch. The journey from a January 2024 surprise hit to a July 2026 full release has been punctuated by regular, substantial content drops that kept the player base engaged far longer than many expected.
Pocketpair's official website marks the milestone with a news post published July 8, calling it a celebration of the community that has supported the game through early access. The commemorative video, which runs just over five minutes, recaps key updates and moments from the game's development timeline. The company has also confirmed that Palworld will continue receiving updates after 1.0, with a content roadmap to be shared closer to the launch date.
For those yet to jump in, Palworld is currently 30 percent off on Steam as part of a pre-1.0 sale running through the launch window. The game remains available on Steam and Xbox, with cross-platform save support between the two.
The July 10 launch closes a notable chapter for a game that has defied expectations at nearly every turn. What began as a surprise hit from a small Japanese studio grew into one of the most talked-about games of 2024, surviving legal challenges and an intense period of public scrutiny. With a full campaign, comprehensively reworked systems, and 40 million players already on board, Pocketpair's creature-collecting survival game is entering its next phase.
