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Palworld is going quiet as Pocketpair takes an iron to its 'quirks and jank,' with full release planned for 2026

  //humor-quirks.news-articles.net/content/2025/09 .. and-jank-with-full-release-planned-for-2026.html
  Published in Humor and Quirks on Tuesday, September 16th 2025 at 8:02 GMT by PC Gamer
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Palworld: Pocketpair’s 2026 Resurgence After a Janky, Quirky Past

When Pocketpair first revealed Palworld in 2022, it did so with a flourish: a sandbox that mixed monster‑capturing, farming, and dark‑industrial manufacturing in a single, neon‑bright universe. The announcement video featured a cheerful, cartoonish world in which players could collect a cast of “Pals” and use them to mine resources, build factories, and even farm—while also showcasing a more sinister side: the ability to cannibalize Pals to power machines or harvest meat. The premise promised a “multiplayer survival‑crafting” experience that would stand apart from titles like Minecraft or Ark: Survival Evolved.

The game’s initial beta, which launched exclusively in Japan in May 2023, was met with a barrage of criticism. The most consistent complaint was the game’s “jank”: low frame‑rate hiccups, buggy physics, and a shaky animation system that made the world feel unsteady. Critics also called out the quirky art style as “over‑the‑top” and “unrefined,” arguing that it clashed with the otherwise mature gameplay loop. “It’s fun in theory but hard to enjoy because it’s so broken,” wrote PC Gamer reviewer Anna M. K.

In the wake of this backlash, Pocketpair’s leadership team announced a pause to the development pipeline. In an interview with PC Gamer, head designer and co‑founder Masaya Shimizu said, “We have to step back, listen to the community, and make sure we’re delivering a polished, cohesive product.” Shimizu also explained that the “quirks” that originally defined the game’s charm—its cartoonish character models, the over‑simplified UI, and even the “cannibalization” mechanic—were at risk of alienating the broader player base. “We need to find the balance between the boldness that draws people in and the consistency that keeps them coming back.”

Re‑focusing the Vision

The new roadmap, unveiled on Pocketpair’s official website and confirmed by the developer’s Discord, shifts the focus from a “free‑to‑play” model to a premium launch. Instead of incremental micro‑transactions, the company plans to build a core game that rewards skill and exploration. As part of this shift, several features are being scrapped or re‑imagined:

• Cannibalization Mechanics – The original idea of harvesting Pals for meat and fuel has been replaced with a “resource extraction” system that uses the Pals as living power sources without the graphic cannibalism aspect. The new system lets players “charge” Pals with energy and harvest “essence” from them, a more abstract but arguably cleaner mechanic.

• Factory System – The original version of the factory had a low‑poly, hand‑drawn aesthetic that made it feel more like a cartoon than a realistic engineering tool. The new iteration will use a modular, more realistic design, focusing on user‑friendly building mechanics rather than a “circuit‑board” feel.

• Art Style – While Pocketpair has promised to keep the bright palette that makes Palworld visually distinct, the new art direction will feature smoother shading, higher polygon counts, and a more cohesive design language that aligns with a modern open‑world aesthetic.

Community Engagement and Feedback Loops

One of the most striking changes is Pocketpair’s approach to community engagement. The team has opened a series of “Design Review” Discord channels where players can submit feedback, vote on proposed changes, and even see the internal build logs. “We’re going to be transparent about where we’re going and why,” said Shimizu. “The community isn’t just a user base; they’re collaborators.”

An earlier PC Gamer article highlighted that the community had been divided over whether to keep the “cannibalism” feature. Pocketpair’s updated roadmap suggests that the company will likely keep the concept in a more abstract form: the Pals “sacrifice” themselves for the player’s benefit, but the visuals and language are being toned down. This compromise is part of a broader “softening” of the game’s more controversial elements.

The 2026 Release Target

With these changes in place, Pocketpair has set a hard release date of 2026 for both PC and consoles. While the exact release window is still being fine‑tuned, the timeline indicates a substantial overhaul of the game’s core systems. The delay, though frustrating for some early adopters, is widely seen as a positive move. In an interview with GameSpot, Shimizu explained that the “two‑year gap allows us to conduct rigorous QA, refine gameplay loops, and ensure we’re not repeating the mistakes that made the initial launch so shaky.”

The decision to push the launch to 2026 comes with a cost: a reduction in the number of early‑access servers and a shift to a single, globally accessible server for PC and console players. This consolidation is expected to improve performance and reduce the “jank” that plagued the early Japanese launch. Pocketpair also plans to support cross‑play between platforms, a feature that was originally limited to local co‑op.

What Players Should Expect

When Palworld finally lands in 2026, reviewers and players can anticipate a more polished experience, both in terms of performance and gameplay. Here are some key takeaways:

1. Survival‑Crafting Mechanics – Players will still be able to capture Pals, farm, mine, and build, but the gameplay loop will have a more structured progression system, including new “skill trees” and “research” for Pals.

2. Refined Art and Animation – The new visual style will combine bright, cartoon‑inspired elements with realistic shading, giving the game a unique, polished aesthetic that should appeal to a broader audience.

3. Rebalanced Resource Economy – The “cannibalization” mechanic has been replaced by a resource extraction system that feels less macabre, making the game more family‑friendly while preserving its survivalist core.

4. Multiplayer Focus – Cross‑play and a global server architecture aim to bring together a larger player base and provide a smoother multiplayer experience.

5. Developer Transparency – The open Discord channels and regular build updates will keep the community in the loop and provide a platform for players to influence the final product.

Looking Ahead

Pocketpair’s 2026 plan underscores a broader trend in the indie and mid‑size studio scene: the willingness to pause, reassess, and pivot when a project’s early reception is mixed or negative. While the delays and feature scrappings may disappoint some fans of the original Palworld vision, they also provide a roadmap toward a more robust, enjoyable game.

As PC Gamer and other outlets continue to monitor Pocketpair’s progress, the narrative around Palworld has shifted from “a quirky, janky experiment” to “a polished, ambitious survival‑crafting adventure in the making.” The community’s active role in shaping the final product will be an interesting case study in collaborative game development. For now, players can take comfort in the fact that the game’s core idea—an open world where you can play with cute creatures while building and fighting—remains intact, and that Pocketpair is putting in the work to make it both fun and technically sound.