What you need to know
- In a recent interview with ASCII Japan, Palworld creator Takuro Mizobe mentioned that they are considering monetization models, including Palworld going free-to-play.
- Mizobe talks about Palworld as a live service game and how this is often hand-in-hand with the F2P model, but this being a challenge as Palworld has been released as a paid product.
- Mizobe also touched on the rumors around Palworld’s use of AI, and confirmed while they don’t use it in Palworld, the studio are using in it’s aptly named ‘AI Imposter’ game.
As a seasoned gamer with decades of experience under my belt, I must say that the journey of Palworld and its developers, Pocket Pair, is nothing short of fascinating. The use of AI in games has been a topic of great interest for many years, and it’s heartening to see companies like Pocket Pair exploring this frontier.
Earlier this year, the release of Palworld caused quite a sensation in the gaming community, breaking records with over 2 million simultaneous players and setting a new benchmark as the largest third-party launch on Xbox Game Pass. Now that the initial hype has died down, the game continues to receive frequent updates. The Sakurajima Update, for instance, introduced new Pals, a new island, and Xbox dedicated servers to enhance performance significantly. Moreover, Pocket Pair have even incorporated a Player versus Player (PvP) mode.
“To be honest, it hasn’t been decided yet “
As an analyst, I recently had a conversation with Mizobe about the potential future monetization strategies for Palworld. Although no definitive decisions have been made at this point, it was acknowledged that transforming Palworld into a live-service game could potentially prolong its lifespan and enhance its profitability. However, it’s important to note that this wasn’t the original design intent, so there may be several hurdles to overcome in transitioning Palworld to a live-service model.
The fundamental aspect is ensuring that players are on board. In preparation for a live game experience, it should be a Free-to-Play (F2P) title. Transforming a game into an F2P model with optional in-app purchases like skins and battle passes is common among managed games. However, Palworld is a one-time purchase game, making it challenging to redesign it as a live game from scratch. Currently, we are brainstorming ways to engage more players without compromising our commitment to existing ones. There have been instances where games transitioned from pay-to-download to F2P midway through, often offering guaranteed items or items of equivalent value. Games like PUBG and Fall Guys serve as successful examples, but they took several years to make the shift. While we recognize the benefits of live games for business, it’s not a straightforward process.
We too have insights regarding ad monetization, and it seems that successful ad monetization is predominantly achievable in mobile applications. From what I understand, there aren’t many instances where ad monetization thrives for PC games. If the PC version were to perform well, those who play on Steam generally dislike ads, and many users become upset when they encounter them. Consequently, we are being cautious as we develop our policy.
AI and Indie Games
In many discussions about Palworld, the topic of AI usage in games inevitably arises due to its connection with the game. However, it’s important to clarify that at launch, Palworld did not utilize AI. Instead, rumors circulated regarding the use of AI for creating the Pals, which have since been proven unfounded. In this recent interview, Mizobe mentioned their initial exploration into using AI for Palworld, but ultimately found it lacking. On the other hand, they are employing AI in another game from their studio, called ‘Art Imposter’. This game is unique as it’s the world’s first to leverage AI, making a significant impact on Steam among games played by a large number of people. In August 2022, the open-source release of generative AI named ‘Stable Diffusion’ caught Mizobe’s attention. Previously familiar with Midjourney, they were deeply impressed by Stable Diffusion and decided to create a game using this AI, resulting in the rapid development and release of AI Art Imposter in November 2022.
In the process of creating Palworld, we explored the possibility of using AI for generating our characters, or Pals. Ultimately, we found that manually designing them was a better fit. Although AI-generated content can be quite impressive, aligning it with our specific vision proved to be an arduous task. Consequently, we opted not to rely on AI in this instance.
In our organization, we’ve consistently prioritized technology innovation with a particular emphasis on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Throughout various projects, including Palworld, we’ve dabbled in AI applications such as creating AI-generated creatures. Nevertheless, we found that human creativity yielded more precise results for our vision. Although AI-generated content is impressive, fine-tuning it to meet specific requirements proved challenging. As a result, we didn’t utilize it extensively in our project. That being said, I am confident that AI will significantly benefit the gaming industry in the future. There are undoubtedly hurdles to overcome, including legal and regulatory issues. Nonetheless, AI is expected to streamline processes and, eventually, it may become an indispensable tool for everyone within the industry. Moreover, I predict that AI’s advancement will contribute to a growth in independent game creators.
Reflecting on the past, the proliferation of free 3D game creation tools during the 2010s opened up an opportunity for individual game developers. The widespread adoption of Unity and Unreal Engine notably boosted the number of independently developed 3D games. These game engines played a crucial and substantial role in this process.
I think the future of gaming development could see a significant rise due to AI technology. With AI at their disposal, there’s no doubt more people will join this field.
Balancing PC and Xbox experiences
In Palworld updates, a Twitch event granted skins to viewers of partnered streams, but unfortunately, this event was exclusive to PC users, not Xbox gamers. Pocket Pair has acknowledged this issue on their social media and plans to make these skins available for Xbox players soon.
Concerning Xbox and Skins: We understand that Xbox gamers are unhappy about the scarcity of skin options, and we’re here to shed light on the reasons behind this and our future plans. Since Palworld doesn’t incorporate a linking system or account (as it’s not a live-service game), the sole method for obtaining skins is as follows…September 10, 2024
In this present moment, you can buy Palworld on the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and PC platforms, either through Windows or Steam. Additionally, it’s accessible for free download through Xbox Game Pass at this time.
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2024-09-13 22:09