Highlights

  • "Pokemon with guns" game Palworld doesn't have dedicated servers on Xbox, limiting players to 4-player co-op instead of 32-player co-op on Steam.
  • Despite the limitation, Palworld has gained massive popularity with over 300,000 concurrent players and 1 million copies sold already.
  • The Xbox version of Palworld lacks certain features like dedicated servers and cross-play, but future updates may address these issues and bring more parity between versions.

The so-called "Pokemon with guns" game Palworld doesn't have dedicated servers on Xbox, which means players can only play 4-player co-op instead of 32-player co-op like in the Steam version of the game. Palworld has been turning heads since its initial reveal, with many fans intrigued by its darker take on the monster-catching genre and how it blends Pokemon-style gameplay with survival game mechanics.

Palworld seems to have found the recipe for success, as the game has exploded in popularity. Palworld is dominating the Steam charts right now, with over 300,000 concurrent players and 1 million copies already sold. Even though Palworld is an early access game, it brings a lot to the table, and it will be exciting to see how it evolves with future updates.

Palworld nervous looking green monkey running with An AK47 through snow
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Palworld Multiplayer Not Working for Many Players

Palworld's multiplayer features appear to be completely broken for many players mere hours after Pocketpair's latest game reached early access.

Those on Xbox are able to play Palworld through Xbox Game Pass, which makes the fact that it sold over 1 million units in its first day of sale all the more impressive. Unfortunately, the Xbox version of Palworld does come with an unfortunate restriction. As reported by IGN, Palworld developer Pocketpair confirmed that Palworld on Xbox does not allow for dedicated servers, and so it only allows for 4-player co-op instead of 32-players. In its Discord, Pocketpair said that it wasn't its decision for Palworld not to have dedicated servers on Xbox and that it "is quite difficult to negotiate at this time," but it is trying. Palworld is also missing cross-play, though there are plans to add that feature as part of a future update.

As far as Xbox Game Preview games go, Palworld does seem to be more fully-featured than some of the games that are part of the program. In fact, Palworld already has achievements, whereas most early access games on Xbox are missing them. Considering this, it's disappointing that the Xbox version of Palworld is still technically inferior to its Steam counterpart, but hopefully future updates bring some parity for the different versions of the game.

Palworld's limited co-op on Xbox could prove to be a stumbling block, but it remains to be seen just how much it will impact the game's popularity. While there is some controversy about Palworld creatures looking very similar to existing Pokemon, most reactions to the game have been largely positive. Palworld has a ton of momentum right now, and if it's able to update the game regularly and bring dedicated servers to Xbox, one has to imagine that it will become even bigger than it is now.