Pocketpair’s latest ‘Palworld’ game might make Nintendo patent farming mechanics — ‘Palfarm’ gets cozy with early access

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When Xbox first got Palworld as a temporary exclusive a few years ago, it wasn’t clear what the future held for the game.

Palworld became incredibly popular when it launched, reaching record numbers of players on Steam and proving that ID@Xbox is good at finding successful games. It quickly grabbed the attention of many gamers who enjoyed Pokémon as children and were hoping for a fresh take on the creature-collecting genre.

Palworld continues to be a hit on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation 5, even though Nintendo, the company behind Pokémon, has tried to slow it down. While Palworld’s creatures, called “Pals,” are similar to Pokémon, the game itself focuses more on surviving and building a base than traditional role-playing games. It’s worth remembering, however, that Nintendo didn’t originate the idea of collecting and battling cute animals.

Nintendo has been taking legal action against the game Palworld, claiming ownership over the concept of animal-fighting games, a claim they’ve previously made in Japanese courts. They were particularly bothered by comparisons to Pokémon, specifically descriptions of Palworld as “Pokémon with guns.” Nintendo is now attempting to shut down Palworld through lawsuits based on what many consider to be weak or unsubstantiated arguments.

Despite previous issues, developer Pocketpair has announced a new game that Nintendo might not be happy about.

Palworld is expanding with a new, relaxing life simulation game called “Palfarm,” revealed at the Tokyo Game Show. In Palfarm, you’ll create and manage your own farm within the Palworld universe, and your Pal creatures can help with tasks like growing crops. You’ll even need to protect your farm from dangers, like monkeys with guns! While it’s similar to Nintendo’s recently announced Pokémon life sim, Pokopia, the developers at Pocketpair emphasize that Palfarm has been in development for over a year with a dedicated new team.

Inspired by games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, you can chat with characters every day, build relationships, and even pursue romantic interests, all while playing with others.

Pocketpair announced *Palfarm*, a new spin-off game based on *Palworld*, on X (formerly Twitter). According to community lead Bucky, *Palfarm* focuses on a relaxing, cozy lifestyle with your Pals. The team has been developing the game for over a year and is thrilled to finally share it, encouraging players to wishlist it on Steam.

Currently, Palfarm is only available on Steam. However, we expect it could be released on Xbox and PlayStation consoles sometime in the future.

After Palworld launched, we got a lot of feedback from players about what they’d like to see in future updates. Many asked for a more peaceful and cozy experience, which inspired us to create Palfarm after a few months of consideration!

Developed by a new team, Palfarm aims to show a more peaceful and cosy side of Palworld.

Settle down on an island inhabited by Pals, and work alongside them to farm, cook, create, and build the farm you’ve always wanted.

Pocketpair has faced criticism for releasing a new game while still supporting two others – Palworld and Craftopia – in early access. Fans are especially disappointed with Craftopia, which has received mixed reviews on Steam and seems to have been put on hold following the popularity of Palworld. Despite needing to make changes to address concerns from Nintendo, Palworld is currently planned to officially launch in 2026.

It’s disappointing Xbox didn’t have this game available from the start, because it seems really appealing. Pocketpair is a smaller developer, and it’s questionable whether they can handle all their current projects. Hopefully, once Palfarm is finished, both it and Palworld will be added to Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming in the future.

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2025-09-23 10:40