Palworld has now crossed 40 million players with 1.0 launch looming

It’s official: Palworld has crossed a mind-bending 40 million players, thrusting it into the same league as Hogwarts Legacy, Sonic the Hedgehog, PayDay 2, and Cyberpunk 2077, and it hasn’t even hit full release just yet.

Palworld has spent the last two-and-a-half years in early access, with updates and new content trickling in regularly. Given the news, Pocketpair has released the following video thanking the players for their support and looking back on the awesome journey the team has been on in expanding the game over the last couple of years.

Palworld is expected to hit full release in just two days’ time, on 10 July, 2026. 1.0 will feature new pals, new areas, and a new threat. It looks like the giant world tree will finally play a role in the story, as well.

Here’s the trailer they released for the full release, in case you missed it:

Palworld originally launched with 137 pals, now having grown to 215 without the full release pals added. It went through two fun collabs with Terraria and Ultrakill, and is now on the verge of the final update.

There may be more updates to follow, but as of 10 July, we’ll finally be able to experience Palworld in its entirety. The full release is set to be their biggest yet, and will include complete overhauls for many mechanics, as well.

So if, like me, you haven’t played in a while, it might be wise to wait for that final update, lest you learn a system only for it to be replaced almost instantly. Pocketpair has advised players to start a fresh save for 1.0, but noted that it wasn’t necessary.

Palworld is currently 30% off as part of the Steam Summer Sale, so if you haven’t got it just yet but you enjoy creature collectors and survival crafting games, now might be the best time to dive in.