Palworld Announces Brand-New Third-Party MMO

Published Aug 3, 2026, 4:11 AM EDT Sam Woods is TheGamer’s Senior Reporter. He’s been in games journalism since 2020 and has undertaken a variety of roles in that time. These have included roles such as SEO Editor, Managing Editor at DualShockers, and Global Head of Gaming, and he's also been seen on the BBC. He was promoted to the Senior Reporter position in 2025 following a series of high-quality reports and exclusives for TheGamer. Since 2020, Sam has written over 2,500 articles and specializes in telling the stories of the people behind the games. He’s interviewed the biggest game directors, some of the industry’s top talents, told the stories of how indie games came to be, and spoken to players about what really makes them tick. He’s also interviewed some of the world’s biggest musical artists to find out how the medium has inspired their work, and TV and Film actors about their roles in video game adaptations. He even hosted a PAX panel in 2021 and made a documentary in 2024 surrounding the creation of a Disney game. Alongside this, Sam focuses on breaking news. He got the scoop on Perfect Dark’s cancellation, got context around some AI drama, and revealed how Lady Dimitrescu’s actress would love to step back into the character’s giant shoes. These articles have been picked up by the biggest gaming sites, including IGN, GameSpot, and PC Gamer. He also loves to dive into the numbers behind the games. Sam’s journey in games journalism has taken him all over the world. He’s covered Gamescom in Germany, Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, each on more than one occasion. He’s been learning Japanese since 2024 with the intention of identifying and translating Japanese-language news and bringing it to English-language audiences first, something he’s done countless times. Sam’s first review was 2020’s Battletoads reboot, and he’s since reviewed games in The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Pokemon franchises. Palworld is once again reaching the peak of its popularity. Following its massively popular early-access launch a couple of years ago, the game hit 1.0 and has brought in hundreds of thousands of daily players, prompting its developers to mock the "dead game" allegations. This past week also saw the release of the Palworld Official Card Game, further cementing the hype, with some cards already selling for thousands of dollars. It makes sense, then, that its developer would look to further capitalize on it, which is exactly what it's done. Releasing later this year is Palworld Online, a "large-scale" entry into the franchise, with a "Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) ecosystem." Palworld Online Is A Mobile MMO Coming From Garena “Palworld is a widely recognized [intellectual property], and we see an opportunity to bring the essence of the PC title to mobile in a way that encourages players to connect and venture together,” said Garena [developer of Palworld Online] president Terry Zhao in a press release [via Gematsu]. “Working closely with Pocketpair, we are focused on preserving the depth, immersion, and freedom that define Palworld, while thoughtfully optimizing the experience for mobile play.” An official description of the game says it "reimagines the depth, freedom, and scale of the original PC survival creature-collecting title for mobile," introducing "a new narrative setting with original story elements, while expanding into a Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) ecosystem." It lists the key features as: A Seamless Open World for Discovery and Creature Collecting Online Play and Cooperative Progression Immersive Survival and Crafting in a Shared World Designed for Mobile Accessibility Based in Singapore, Garena is one of gaming's biggest mobile port developers. It's helped to bring series like Call of Duty, Fifa, Delta Force, Path of Exile, and League of Legends to mobile devices, expanding those games' audiences by millions. But while Garena clearly has pedigree, Palworld fans aren't particularly happy at the new game announcement. In a Reddit thread discussing the game, they've been sharing their disappointment. "Third-party mobile game, don't expect too much," said Jeff5551, while Tetrachrome added, "I wish this was on PC.. Mobile MMOs are rife with problems due to the limited nature of the platform, and I don't think I've played a single one that I genuinely enjoyed." Of course, this is a privileged position to be in. Mobile Gaming commands by far the highest market share of players in games, between 73 percent and 83 percent, so this new game will help expand the IP to an audience that is over three billion strong. Released July 10, 2026 ESRB T For Teen Due To Violence Developer(s) Pocket Pair, Inc. Publisher(s) Pocket Pair, Inc. Engine Unreal Engine 5 Multiplayer Online Multiplayer Cross-Platform Play Xbox Series X|S, pc