Palworld was one of the breakout success stories of 2024 alongside the likes of Helldivers 2 and Balatro, with a launch so big that the devs said it hit a "disgusting number" that made them "feel sick." Even as the game faced servers that were unprepared for how big the launch was, had accusations of plagiarism and AI art usage, and later a lawsuit from Nintendo over alleged patent infringement, the game fostered a massive community of its own. But even almost one year on, that community hasn't forgotten about the studio's April Fools prank from last year.
Last year, Pocketpair released a trailer for the Palworld dating sim "Palworld ~ More Than Just Pals," in what was a bit of an obvious April Fools joke. But it did sort of set the community on fire, with many hoping that it would be a real thing when all is said and done. The trailer for the spin-off did end by saying "coming April 1, 2025," so people's need to see – to quote Pocketpair – "Pals take off their clothes" should, in theory, be a couple of weeks away. Of course, many took this as a joke, but some haven't given up hope, and maybe they were right all along, as Pocketpair's Publishing Manager, John Buckley, has been stoking the flames at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2025.
During his GDC lecture "Community Management Summit: A 'Palworld' Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop," Buckley acknowledged the upcoming release date of the dating sim and hinted that the real joke may be that it wasn't a joke at all, saying, "We teased a totally not real, or maybe real, Palworld dating simulator last year that's slated to release this April Fools, maybe, or maybe not. I guess we'll see."
- "We hit this disgusting number that makes me feel sick": Palworld devs don't know why their survival game was so successful - "If we knew how to do it, we'd do it again"
- Palworld dev reckons "very few companies could survive" a launch like theirs: "A lot of companies might crumble under the threats, under the pressure, under the negativity"
Of course, this wouldn't be the only time a games industry April Fools joke would turn out to be real, the most impactful example being the Yakuza series becoming a turn-based RPG after the release of an April Fools video.
Buckley also acknowledged the furry community's support of the game: "Obviously, Palworld is a game about little furry creatures, so there is a very large and very vocal community of passionate individuals. That's all I'll say." So should Palworld actually release this, the target audience is already right there for the picking. Who knows? Maybe Palworld ~ More Than Just Pals can join the pantheon of beloved dating sims like Hatoful Boyfriend, John Cena’s Sexy High School Adventure, and Baldur's Gate 3.
In other Palworld news, the game is finally getting its long-awaited crossplay update later this month, finally letting Xbox, PC, and PS5 players come together as one.
"We hit this disgusting number that makes me feel sick": Palworld devs don't know why their survival game was so successful - "If we knew how to do it, we'd do it again"
Nintendo's Palworld lawsuit "came as a shock" to Pocketpair because patent infringement was "something that no one even considered"
