It’s easy to forget that despite its enormous success, Palworld is still technically an early access game. That will soon change with version 1.0, and according to Pocketpair, this won’t be just another content patch.

The studio is describing it as the biggest and most ambitious update in the game’s history, one that could fundamentally reshape how players experience Palworld. “1.0 is bigger in scale than any update we have ever released,” publishing and community lead John ‘Bucky’ Buckley said on the game’s Discord channel. 

The upcoming addition is the long-awaited World Tree region, a mysterious area that has been visible in the distance since launch but remained inaccessible. For many players, finally reaching it feels like the culmination of a journey that began when Palworld exploded onto the scene in early 2024.

Pocketpair says version 1.0 will introduce more new Pals than any previous update while also implementing major changes across multiple gameplay systems.

Rather than simply adding content on top of the existing foundation, the studio appears to be using the full release as an opportunity to refine and expand nearly every aspect of the game.

One particularly interesting decision involves evolutions. While comparisons to Pokémon have followed Palworld since day one, Pocketpair has confirmed that traditional evolution systems are not part of the plan. Instead, the team wants each Pal to exist as its own unique species rather than becoming part of a larger evolutionary chain.

In other news, you can also check our detailed look at the Nintendo’s ongoing lawsuit againts Pocketpair and Palworld and why it’s losing momentum.

Palworld is hitting full release on July 10th globally across Windows PC (Steam, Microsoft Store), Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.