Palworld 1.0 Review — Is It Worth It in 2026?
Palworld 1.0 is a huge, well-received full release — 72 new Pals, a World Tree endgame, water building and a gliding Wing Pack — free for existing owners and sitting at 'Overwhelmingly Positive' on Steam.
- Release date
- Friday, July 10, 2026
- Platforms
- PC (Steam / Microsoft Store), PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Game Pass (Day One)
- Price
- $29.99 (early access)
- Pre-order
- N/A — buy now in early access; 1.0 is a free update
- Last verified
- July 7, 2026
Palworld left early access on July 10, 2026, and version 1.0 is a genuinely big full release, not a token version bump. It's a free update for anyone who already owns the game, Pocketpair didn't raise the price, and it launched on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One — day one on Game Pass — alongside PC. With more than 40 million players to date, it arrives as one of the most-played survival games around.
The headline additions make the world feel new. The World Tree — that mysterious barrier from early access — finally opens as the main endgame region, and Sunreach adds a set of floating islands above Palpagos with their own Pals, tower bosses and an exclusive ore. There are 72 new Pals (bringing the roster to 287), the level cap jumps from 65 to 80, and new Mutation and Awakening breeding mechanics give late-game players a fresh grind to chase.
Quality-of-life and building got real attention too. Water-based building means you can finally construct clean bases on and over water instead of fighting the terrain, and the new Wing Pack lets your character glide and fly from an equipment slot — so you keep a full five-Pal combat team while you soar. Add 13 new weapons, a reworked base-raid system and a batch of multiplayer improvements, and 1.0 feels closer to a new game than a patch.
Is it good? By player reception, clearly yes — Palworld sits at 'Overwhelmingly Positive' on Steam at 1.0. What people like is the depth: the loop of catching Pals, automating a base with them, then fighting and exploring with a team scratches several itches at once, and the sheer volume of systems rewards long play. If you enjoy survival-crafting or creature-collectors, there's an enormous amount to do here.
Multiplayer is a big part of the appeal at 1.0 — co-op base-building, dedicated servers and the improved raid system make it a strong pick to play with friends. Newcomers should lean on our Palworld beginners guide and tips pages to skip the early-game fumbling; the systems open up fast once you automate your first base.
The honest caveats: it's still a survival-crafting game at heart, so if grinding for resources and juggling hunger and base logistics isn't your thing, 1.0 won't change your mind. As with any game this systems-heavy, expect some rough edges and balancing quirks, and performance can vary on weaker hardware. The 'creature-collector with firearms' framing also isn't for everyone.
Verdict: if you like survival, crafting or monster-taming games — especially in co-op — Palworld 1.0 is an easy recommendation, and being free for existing owners and on Game Pass makes trying it almost risk-free. If you bounced off early access because it felt thin, this is the version to come back for; if you simply don't enjoy grind-driven survival games, it won't convert you. We don't assign a numeric score, but on content-per-dollar and player sentiment, 1.0 is one of the strongest value propositions in the genre right now.