When Pocketpair's monster capturing survival adventure game, Palworld, launched, it quickly drew comparisons to Pokémon, often being dubbed "Pokémon with guns." While Pocketpair's communications director, John 'Bucky' Buckley, isn't fond of this comparison, the concept of collecting a following of adorable monsters has sparked interest among fans, leading many to wonder if Palworld would ever make its way to the Nintendo Switch.
Unfortunately, according to Buckley, a Switch release isn't feasible due to technical constraints. "If we could make the game work on the Switch, we would, but Palworld is a beefy game," he explained.
During a conversation at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, following Buckley's talk titled 'Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop,' he also addressed the possibility of a release on the rumored Nintendo Switch 2. While Pocketpair is interested, Buckley noted that they haven't had access to the new console's specifications yet. "Like everyone else, we're waiting. I'm walking around GDC hoping someone will tell me them, but everyone I've spoken to says they haven't even seen them," he shared. He added that if the new console is powerful enough, it would be "100% worth considering," especially given their successful optimization efforts for the Steam Deck.
Despite ongoing legal battles with Nintendo over alleged patent infringement related to Pokémon's ball-throwing mechanics, Buckley clarified that the lawsuit isn't the primary barrier preventing a Switch release. In his GDC talk, he briefly touched on the lawsuit, noting it came as a surprise to the team, despite thorough legal checks before the game's release. "Pretty much everyone at Pocketpair is a huge fan [of Pokémon]," Buckley mentioned, reflecting on the team's morale after the lawsuit news broke.
The question remains whether Nintendo would allow a game it's taken issue with to be released on its next-generation console.
Stay tuned for our full interview with Buckley later this week, which will delve deeper into Palworld's development and future. In the meantime, it's a great opportunity to return to Palworld, especially with the recent addition of cross-platform play in the latest update.
