When Pocketpair's monster-collecting survival adventure Palworld first launched, many drew comparisons to Pokémon, often calling it "Pokémon with guns." According to communications director John 'Bucky' Buckley, this comparison isn't Pocketpair's favorite. Still, the idea of gathering a crew of endearing creatures has led many to wonder if Palworld might eventually arrive on Pokémon's home platform, the Nintendo Switch.

Unfortunately, Buckley states that this isn't in the plans, mainly due to technical constraints. "We would love to bring the game to Switch if possible, but Palworld is a demanding title."

Last week, I spoke with Buckley at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco after his session, 'Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop.' During our conversation, I also inquired about the potential for a Nintendo Switch 2 release. He noted that Pocketpair is open to the idea but hasn't yet had an opportunity to assess the feasibility of a port.

"We haven't seen the technical specifications," he explained. "Like the rest of the industry, we're waiting. I've been wandering around GDC hoping someone might share details, but so far no one I've spoken with has seen them either."

"If the hardware is strong enough, it's definitely something we'd consider. We put significant effort into optimizing for Steam Deck, and we're pleased with the results. There's more to do, but we're happy with the progress. So if it's possible, we’d love to bring Palworld to more handheld devices."

Pocketpair is currently involved in a lawsuit with Nintendo over alleged patent infringement concerning Pokémon's ball-throwing mechanics. This has led some to speculate that the legal dispute is the real reason Palworld hasn't come to Switch.

However, the lawsuit isn't actually preventing the studio from launching games on Nintendo platforms, as we observed back in January. Buckley briefly touched on the lawsuit in his GDC talk, mentioning that it took the team by surprise. He added that the studio had conducted thorough legal reviews before launch to avoid such a situation. "Nearly everyone at Pocketpair is a big fan of Pokémon," Buckley shared during the session. "It was a very disheartening day—everyone was heads down, walking in the rain."

The question remains: would Nintendo allow a game it has challenged so strongly on its next-generation console?

We’ll be publishing our full interview with Buckley from GDC later this week, so stay tuned for more insights into Palworld. In the meantime, if you've taken a break from the game, now is a great time to revisit it. The latest update, released last week, added cross-platform play.