Published Jul 10, 2026, 8:01 PM EDT
Hannah has been writing about horror, sci-fi, and all things nerdy since 2021. At Collider, she covers news and conducts interviews, along with contributing features that dive deep into genre storytelling and why it works. If there’s something lurking in the shadows, she’s probably already writing about it if she’s not too busy watching a tape from her VHS collection.
Just days before one of the decades biggest breakout hits officially leaves Early Access, developer Pocketpair has surprised fans with one last announcement. While many players expected the game’s price to increase alongside its long-awaited 1.0 launch, that won’t be happening after all. Since early 2024, the game’s Steam Early Access page has included a note warning that the game’s price “may increase at or closer to the official release.” With Version 1.0 arriving on July 10, many assumed the survival hit would soon cost more than its current $29.99 asking price. Instead, Pocketpair has confirmed it is keeping the game at its existing price as a thank-you to the community that helped turn it into one of gaming’s biggest success stories.
In a statement shared across social media, Pocketpair revealed that it ultimately decided against raising the price after weighing its options.
“After much thought, we have decided not to raise the price of Palworld following the 1.0 release and will keep it at $29.99. We are incredibly proud of how far Palworld has come. Thanks to the amazing support of our players, it has become a success beyond our wildest dreams. As a small way of saying thank you, we’ll be keeping the price at $29.99. Thank you for your continued support.”
Yes, the game in question is Palworld, which famously got on Nintendo’s bad side for the game’s similarities to one of its most successful franchises, Pokémon. The news also comes at an interesting time as GTA VI sparked mass backlash after it revealed a significant increase in price. It’s a notable reversal from what many players expected. While Early Access games often increase in price once they reach a full release, Pocketpair appears to be rewarding longtime players instead.
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
That success is difficult to overstate. Palworld has attracted more than 40 million players since launching in Early Access, becoming one of the biggest breakout hits of 2024. The game shattered concurrent player records on Steam and generated profits so quickly that Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe previously admitted the studio struggled to keep up with its own success. Pocketpair has also continued expanding the franchise beyond the game itself, partnering with Sony to establish Palworld Entertainment and later bringing Palworld to Sony Interactive Entertainment’s PlayStation 5.
Despite its enormous popularity, Palworld has also spent much of its life under intense scrutiny. Shortly after launch, players began comparing many of the game’s creature designs to those found in The Pokémon Company’s long-running franchise. Those comparisons eventually led to legal action from both Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, though the lawsuit centers on alleged patent infringement rather than copyright. The companies are seeking financial damages as well as an injunction that could impact the game’s distribution, with a ruling expected later this year.
For now, though, Pocketpair is focused squarely on Version 1.0. According to head of publishing and communications John “Bucky” Buckley, the upcoming update includes 27 pages of patch notes packed with new features, gameplay changes, and system overhauls. Buckley also reassured players that existing save files will remain compatible, though he suggested veterans may want to consider starting over anyway.
“Players can continue their existing saves if they wish, as we want to respect the time and effort you have put in. However, due to the large number of changes to the game, including overhauls to mechanics and new content, we believe that starting a new character will give you the best experience of Palworld.”
With Version 1.0 arriving on July 10, new players won’t have to worry about paying more to jump in, while returning fans can decide whether to continue their existing adventure or experience the game’s biggest update from the very beginning.
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Shigeru Omachi, Koji Ogawa, Fumihiro Ueno, Hideki Hiroshima, Maki Kodaira, Makoto Ooga, Ayumi Moriyama, Keitaro Motonaga, Shigeru Ueda, Fumihiro Yoshimura, Minoru Ohara, Yoshitaka Makino, Kiyoshi Egami, Makoto Sokuza, Bjarne Heuser, Naoki Murata, Kenichi Nishida, Tomoe Makino, Masahiko Watanabe, Hiroaki Takagi, Tazumi Mukaiyama, Ryohei Horiuchi, Yoshihiro Oda, Hiromichi Matano