You’ve probably heard about the Palworld team looking for new ways to monetize so they may continue developing the game, and many of those reports seemingly pull from an old interview with PocketPair. In it, they talk about the live service route, taking Palworld free to play, and the potential for microtransactions, such as skin packs, to help monetize the game. Well, here’s what you need to know about whether Palworld is going free!
Will Palworld Go Free to Play?
No! There is no chance that Palworld will adopt a free-to-play model, as according to PocketPair, the game was “never designed with that model in mind.” They said it would take too much time and effort to adapt the monster-battling game to a free-to-play model, and at this point, with so many people having bought the game for retail price, it would be a significant kick to the face for the community.
They did address the “recent” news that’s popping up, stating:
At that time, we were still considering the best way forward for Palworld to create a long-lasting game that continues to grow. We are still discussing this internally, as it is quite challenging to find the ideal path, but we have already decided that the F2P/GaaS approach is not suitable for us.
Palworld was never designed with that model in mind, and it would require too much work to adapt the game at this point. Additionally, we are very aware that this just isn’t what our players want, and we always put our players first.
The interview in question was from several months ago and doesn’t hold any stock today. The game is out in the wild with a retail price tag and sold exceptionally well!
Related: PocketPair Partners With Sony to Promote Expansion of Palworld
Will Palworld Receive DLC or Microtransactions?
To date, the only new content Palworld has received stems from major content updates. The most recent being Sakurajima, which introduced an entirely new end-game island, a tower boss, a brand-new raid, and plenty of new Pals to catch and fight.
However, PocketPair has said that they wish to find an additional method to monetize the game without splitting the community or adopting a free-to-play model. They will primarily consider cosmetics that don’t affect gameplay and only change aesthetics. Pal and player skins are the most obvious way to monetize the game further, but we’ll likely see weapon and tool skins, too.
How would you feel if Palworld went free to play after all this time? Let us know in the comments below, or start a new thread on our official community forums so others can join the discussion, too!
