Palworld is an action-adventure, survival, and monster-taming game developed and published by Pocket Pair, a Japanese gaming company. Set in an expansive open world known as the Palpagos Islands, players navigate the terrain as customizable avatars, encountering a diverse array of creature-like entities called “Pals.” These Pals can be engaged in combat, captured, and utilized for various purposes such as base building, traversal, and combat assistance. Players can also assign Pals to bases where they perform tasks autonomously.

The game offers both solo and multiplayer modes, accommodating up to 32 players on a single server. Its distinctive premise, which involves equipping Pals with firearms and engaging in combat alongside them, has earned it the moniker “Pokémon with guns.” Furthermore, players can employ Pals for tasks such as food gathering, mining, and factory work, adding layers of strategy and resource management to the gameplay experience.

Palworld’s development involved a significant investment, with the game budget exceeding 1 billion yen and the recruitment of over 40 additional staff members. The game’s mechanics draw inspiration from titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Ark: Survival Evolved, while incorporating creature-collecting elements reminiscent of the Pokémon franchise. Despite facing criticism for its use of shock humor and unoriginal designs, Palworld garnered widespread attention and achieved remarkable success upon its release, selling millions of copies and attracting millions of players within days of its launch.