Palworld Early Access Is Real, Developer Insists

Palworld's developer has responded to criticism surrounding its early access designation. Learn why Pocketpair believes early access releases are vital, and discover other games that flourished through this development model.

Why Palworld's Early Access Phase is Crucial for Its Growth

Refining the Gaming Experience

This week, Palworld's early access status faced scrutiny after Pocketpair announced the game's full 1.0 release is scheduled for next year. John "Bucky" Buckley, Pocketpair's Global Community Manager, defended the strategy, emphasizing how early access plays a fundamental role in polishing the game.

In a reply to video game journalist Chris Scullion on Twitter (X) on September 18, Bucky challenged the idea that highly popular games should abandon the "Early Access gimmick." He explained that Palworld’s early access launch helps the development team collect essential player feedback, which they actively use to enhance the overall experience.

Bucky elaborated, "We're not arrogant enough to believe we have all the answers. Our players consistently share creative ideas and suggestions to make Palworld more enjoyable, and ignoring that input would be foolish."

Despite attracting millions of players since its early access launch on January 19, 2024, he clarified that Palworld remains a work in progress. "Player involvement is what truly elevates a game," Bucky noted.

Other Early Access Success Stories

Beyond defending Palworld’s early access approach, Bucky cited several games that have thrived under this model, such as Hades, Valheim, Baldur’s Gate 3, V Rising, Satisfactory, and Enshrouded.

He acknowledged that early access can carry a negative reputation due to past failures, scams, or abandoned projects, but stressed that many notable successes also emerged from this process. Scullion later clarified his initial viewpoint, leading to a respectful exchange between the two.

Another user supported Scullion’s perspective, suggesting that highly successful early access titles with massive sales and player bases should no longer use the label. They referenced Fortnite, which spent roughly three years in beta/early access before its official 2020 launch.

Bucky humorously remarked that the team never anticipated surpassing 32 million players in the game's first year, though he understood the argument. "I can see his point to some extent, but it feels similar to claiming a game isn't indie if it earns a lot of money. Personally, that reasoning doesn’t hold much weight for me," he said.

Regardless, Pocketpair is preparing to exit early access and is scaling back remaining updates this year in anticipation of the full release. Palworld is playable on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam. For more details on its gameplay and story, explore our article below!