Pocketpair announced Palworld 1.0 update will launch on July 10 across various times, and have recommendations for the best game experience.
The Pokémon-like game is finally getting its full launch update, after initially being playable since January 2024. Developer of Palworld, Pocketpair said they could not give exact timing of the upcoming 1.0 update release date, set for July 10. However, they provided existing players the recommendation to wipe their data before the major update. Apparently, there will be about 27 pages of changes and additions for the patch notes.
Pocketpair stated it cannot provide an exact release time for the 1.0 update, but they are planning to launch it around midday on July 10, specifically in Japan time. It was said to be 12:30pm Japan time, to be exact. Communications director and publishing manager at Pocketpair, John “Bucky” Buckley wrote in a dedicated Discord post: “Estimate time, this is NOT 100% the exact launch time.” Assuming around 12:30pm Japan time, then, that’s 8:30pm PT on July 9, 11:30pm ET on July 9, and 4:30am UK time July 10.
Here is an approximate list of Palworld 1.0 global release times:
- Los Angeles: 8:30pm PT on July 9
- New York: 11:30pm ET on July 9
- London: 4:30am UK time on July 10
- Tokyo: 12:30pm Japan time on July 10
- Sydney: 1:30pm AEST on July 10
On top of release time news, Bucky also recommended players do not need to wipe their data for 1.0, “but you should. “Players can continue their existing saves if they wish, as we want to respect the time and effort you have put in,” Bucky continued in another Discord post. “However, due to the large number of changes to the game, including overhauls to mechanics and new content, we believe that starting a new character will give you the best experience of Palworld! We will leave that choice up to you, Pal Tamers!”
It seems like Palworld players have the choice, but no one from Pocketpair has said what the game will look like if you do not wipe your data. but Bucky confirmed there will be 27 pages worth of details in this 1.0 patch notes. So, stability or visual updates could be something at risk, for those who do not wipe their data. But the cost of wiping does seem crazy.
In case you missed it, Palworld has been in Early Access since January 2024. The game arrived on Steam, listed for $30 and featured on Game Pass on Xbox and PC. The game broke sales and concurrent player number records in the process. Pocketpair boss Takuro Mizobe has said Palworld’s launch was so big that the developer could not keep up with the massive profits the game generated. Still, Pocketpair acted swiftly to capitalize on Palworld’s breakout success, signing a deal with Sony to form a new business called Palworld Entertainment that was assigned to expand the IP. It later launched the game on the PlayStation 5.
The main reason Palworld has continuously met controversy is how much it has been compared to Pokémon, just with a guns aspect. In all fairness, a lot of Pocketpair’s designs admittingly look very similar to various Pokémon. This led Nintendo and The Pokémon Company in filing a copyright infringement lawsuit. In the initial lawsuit, the two companies called for 5 million yen (approx $30,000) each plus late payment damages, as well as an injunction against Palworld that would block its release. A final verdict is expected to be announced later this year, but does not appear to affect the 1.0 update releasing this week.
This massive update might have the juice to stave off Nintendo’s lawsuit, but at what cost (if any)? The one-year anniversary, Feybreak, and Tides of Terraria expansion already proved how much Pocketpair is willing to invest in this world. A spin-off is already in the works too.
