Palworld has crossed 40 million players, a milestone developer Pocketpair confirmed just days before the game leaves early access. The timing is not a coincidence. The studio is treating the 40-million mark as the send-off to a two-and-a-half-year run in early access, with the full 1.0 release landing on July 10, 2026.
Quick answer: Palworld has passed 40 million players and exits early access with its 1.0 update on July 10, 2026, as a free update for existing owners on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One, plus day-one Xbox Game Pass.
The 40 million player milestone
More than 40 million people have played Palworld across all platforms in the roughly 2.5 years since it launched in early access. To mark the number, Pocketpair released a commemorative video that walks back through the game’s major updates and thanks the players who stuck around for them.
That staying power is the real story. Palworld arrived in January 2024 as the “Pokémon with guns” phenomenon, then had to defend itself through a patent lawsuit from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company while steadily shipping new content, including the Sakurajima update that added a batch of new Pals. The player base never fully churned out, which is why a 40-million figure right before launch reads as pent-up demand rather than a farewell.
Palworld 1.0 release date and platforms
Version 1.0 launches on Friday, July 10, 2026, ending the early access period that began on January 19, 2024. It is a free update for anyone who already owns the game, and it launches day one on Xbox Game Pass for both PC and console. Crossplay stays intact, and existing saves carry over, though Pocketpair suggests a fresh start to feel the full weight of the new content.
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Release date | Friday, July 10, 2026 |
| Platforms | PC (Steam + Microsoft Store), PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One |
| Game Pass | Day one, PC and console |
| Price for owners | Free update |
| Crossplay | Supported |
| Save data | Carries over; fresh start recommended |
Note: Pocketpair operates out of Tokyo, so the update rolls out on a Japan-time schedule. Players in North America can expect it to arrive the evening of Thursday, July 9. The exact minute has been described as an estimate rather than a guarantee.
What the Palworld 1.0 update adds
This is the biggest update in the game’s history, with patch notes running to roughly 27 pages. The centerpiece is the World Tree, a large endgame zone that has sat behind an impassable red barrier since day one. With 1.0, that barrier finally drops and the region becomes home to the conclusion of the main story that early access players have waited more than two years to see.
- Sky Islands, floating landmasses above the Palpagos archipelago with their own Pals and resources.
- A new Wing Pack traversal tool that reworks how you move across the map.
- Offshore base building that extends construction onto the water.
- Reworked Tower bosses and a Wildlife Sanctuary revamp that changes how rare Pals are caught and protected.
- More new Pals in a single update than any previous patch, plus fresh weapons, armor, and gear.
- More story-driven content for a game that shipped with almost no plot.
The dedicated-server side stays a big part of the appeal. Cooperative multiplayer scales to 32 players on a hosted world, and the self-hosting and modding community has kept private servers busy throughout early access.
Steam player counts heading into launch
Palworld’s launch numbers remain some of the wildest in Steam history. On January 27, 2024, it peaked at 2,101,535 concurrent players, making it only the second game on the platform to break two million at once. That figure still stands as its all-time peak.
Since then the game has settled into a healthy rhythm, holding daily peaks in the tens of thousands and pushing higher around content drops. The table below shows how recent months have trended, with activity climbing again in the run-up to 1.0.
| Month | Peak players |
|---|---|
| June 2026 | 43,621 |
| May 2026 | 30,435 |
| April 2026 | 49,146 |
| March 2026 | 52,848 |
| February 2026 | 59,679 |
| January 2026 | 75,628 |
| All-time peak | 2,101,535 |
A new endgame, day-one Game Pass exposure, and years of pent-up demand could push a concurrency spike on July 10, though matching that original launch number would be a tall order.
30 percent off on Steam before 1.0
For a limited time ahead of the full release, Palworld is discounted 30 percent on Steam, its lowest price yet. If you have been holding off, this is the cheapest entry point to the Palpagos Islands before the 1.0 content lands.
The bigger question starts on July 10, when players decide whether the World Tree, Sky Islands, and story additions give Palworld staying power beyond the survival grind. Cross that line successfully, and Pocketpair has a strong case that its breakout was never just a viral moment.
