Palworld leaves early access on July 10, 2026. The full 1.0 release lands the same day on PC through Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, and it is included with Game Pass. Anyone who already owns the game gets 1.0 as a free update, so there is no second purchase. If you have never played, this is a reasonable moment to start.
Palworld is a survival and crafting game built around Pals, the collectible creatures you catch, fight beside, and assign to jobs at your base. You gather resources, build a home, automate work with your Pals, and push into tougher regions. The 1.0 version is the largest content update the game has had.
Should you keep your old save or start fresh?
Returning players face one real decision. Pocketpair, the developer, has confirmed that save data carries over, so your existing world and Pals are not deleted. The studio still recommends a fresh save to experience the new story and areas in their intended order.
A simple rule helps here. If you have a base you love and hours invested, keep your save and treat the new zones as endgame content. If your progress is thin or you stopped playing months ago, start again and take the guided path through 1.0.
What is new in 1.0
The headline addition is the World Tree, a large endgame region, plus a second major island. Together these roughly double the playable landmass compared with the 2024 launch. There is also new aerial gear called the Wing Pack, letting you cover this bigger map by air.
Competitive players get a proper PvP mode for the first time, alongside a breeding system named Genetic Recombination that gives more control over the Pals you raise. The update also brings new Pals, weapons, and story content. The changelog runs to 27 pages, so expect many smaller fixes on top of the big features.
If you are completely new
Start on a normal difficulty and a fresh world. Spend your first session catching a handful of early Pals and building a small base, rather than exploring far. Pals do the work that keeps you alive, so an early team that can gather wood, mine stone, and craft is worth more than a rare creature you cannot yet use.
Assign each Pal to the task it is suited for. A fire Pal handles the forge and cooking, a watering Pal keeps crops alive, and a mining Pal breaks rock faster than you can. Check what each one is good at before you set it to work.
A few early priorities
Build a Palbox first, since it anchors your base and lets Pals operate there. Craft a bed and basic food storage next so your character and your Pals recover overnight. Only then push outward toward tougher zones and the World Tree content.
Multiplayer is available if you would rather learn with friends. Shared servers let a group divide labour, with one person building while another explores. For newcomers, that shared load makes the first few hours far less punishing.