Palworld Leaves Early Access on July 10 With a 1.0 Launch Across PC and Consoles, the World Tree Endgame, and Its Biggest Batch of New Pals Yet
Pocketpair will ship Palworld's version 1.0 on July 10, 2026 across PC, PS5, Xbox, and Game Pass, ending more than two years of early access with a 27-page changelog, flight, the World Tree endgame, and its largest batch of new Pals.
Overview
Pocketpair will end Palworld’s early access run on July 10, 2026, when its full release hits PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Game Pass at the same time, GamesRadar+ reports. The version 1.0 date was announced during the Summer Game Fest stream, marking the moment the creature-collecting survival game finally graduates from early access a little over two years after it launched, according to GamesRadar+.
What We Know
Pocketpair’s head of publishing and communications, John “Bucky” Buckley, has framed 1.0 as the game’s largest release to date. “1.0 is bigger in scale than any update we have ever released,” Buckley wrote on Palworld’s Discord, as reported by GamesRadar+. The scale shows up in the changelog: Buckley said the patch runs to “27 pdf pages of changes and additions,” per PC Gamer.
The centerpiece is the World Tree, the landmark that looms over the northwest corner of the map and has long been tied to the game’s ending scenario, according to PC Gamer. The same report notes that Palworld’s Steam announcement points to trailer content including “new Pals, new areas, an ominous new threat, and the long-awaited World Tree.” A press release additionally teases “uncharted territories” and “fragments of a grand narrative that inches closer to the truth of the world,” GamesRadar+ reports.
Among the confirmed additions are the flight-enabling wing pack and a fresh grab bag of items and Pals, PC Gamer reports. Buckley has promised “many many many new Pals,” a new region, and a more fleshed-out narrative, according to GamesRadar+. Asked how many creatures would arrive, Buckley answered “More than we’ve ever added before in any one update,” and showed off one of them, a jester-like Pal named Dupin, GamesRadar+ reports. That is a meaningful expansion for a game that already has nearly 200 Pals, per the same outlet.
One long-requested feature is explicitly not coming. Asked about Pokemon-style evolutions that would let Pals grow into stronger forms, Buckley was blunt: “We aren’t doing evolutions,” GamesRadar+ reports.
Existing players will not be forced to restart, but Pocketpair suggests they consider it anyway. “You do NOT need to wipe your data for Palworld 1.0,” Buckley announced on Palworld’s Discord, adding, “But you should,” according to PC Gamer. He explained the reasoning: “Players can continue their existing saves if they wish, as we want to respect the time and effort you have put in. 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!”
Context
Palworld arrives at 1.0 while still entangled in a patent lawsuit from The Pokemon Company, though GamesRadar+ reports that one legal expert reckons the case has “zero chance” of leaving Nintendo with anything more than chump change. The game remains active in the meantime, with more than 35,000 concurrent players on Steam according to SteamDB and an official card game in the works, PC Gamer reports.
What We Don’t Know
Pocketpair has not published the full patch notes, so the complete list of 1.0 mechanics, systems, and Pals remains unconfirmed ahead of launch. A precise global release time has not been detailed in these reports, and the studio has not specified how many new Pals the update contains beyond Buckley’s comparative phrasing.