Palworld had a phenomenal rise to the top of the gaming charts in late January 2024, with millions of players flocking to the edgy creature-catching adventure. Since its early success, its player numbers have dwindled rapidly, dropping from 2.1 million concurrent players to a 24-hour peak of 430,000. But as developer Pocketpair states, the drop is nothing to worry about.
“Palworld has lost X per cent of its player base discourse is lazy,” community manager Bucky recently said on Twitter / X. “It’s probably also a good time to step in and reassure those of you capable of reading past a headline that it is fine to take breaks from games. You don’t need to feel bad about that.”
As it stands, Palworld is currently in early access, which means it’s not feature complete. It’s a fair assumption that those who spent dozens of hours with the game in its first few blockbuster weeks will have seen plenty of its main features already – and could perhaps be waiting patiently for the next content drop. Realistically, some players may also be over the novelty of the adventure, or – as Pocketpair encourages – they’re simply playing other games.
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“Palworld, like many games before it, isn’t in a position to pump out massive amounts of new content on a weekly basis,” Bucky said. “New content will come, and it’s going to be awesome, but these things take a little bit of time. There are so many amazing games out there to play; you don’t need to feel guilty about hopping from game to game.”
Over on Twitter / X, the next flavour of the month appears to be Helldivers 2, and even Palworld‘s community manager is getting in on the action, highlighting their own forays into the game and expressing support for the game’s developer, Arrowhead.
There will always be new games, and it appears Pocketpair has chosen a kinder route as it continues to work on Palworld – lifting up its competitors, celebrating their wins, and understanding that player loyalty is not limited to one game or another.
“If you are still playing Palworld, we love you. If you’re no longer playing Palworld, we still love you, and we hope you’ll come back for round 2 when you’re ready,” Bucky said. “Play lots of games, try different genres, and frequently flick through indie libraries to find hidden gems.”
While Palworld‘s player count is slowly stabilising around the 400,000 – 500,000 mark, Pocketpair remains very happy with the game’s success and its entire audience of players – whether active, lapsed, or planning a future return.
