Palworld developer Pocketpair has firmly put an end to speculation about the game transitioning to a Free to Play (F2P) or Games-as-a-Service (GaaS) model. This clarification comes after reports surfaced regarding the developer's discussions on future plans for the popular creature-catcher survival game, Palworld.

Palworld Not Changing to Free-to-Play (F2P) Model

"Regarding the Future of Palworld TL;DR – We are not changing our game’s business model, it will remain buy-to-play and not f2p or GaaS," the Palworld team announced via a recent statement on Twitter (X). This statement was a response to reports that Pocketpair had been considering a shift to a live service and F2P model, among other potential paths.

Pocketpair further elaborated in their statement that they are "still discussing" the "best way forward" for Palworld. This comes after an interview with ASCII Japan, where the developers shared their thoughts on potential future directions for the game. "At that time, we were still considering the best way forward for Palworld to create a long-lasting game that continues to grow," the statement continued. "We are still discussing this internally, as it is quite challenging to find the ideal path, but we have already decided that the F2P/GaaS approach is not suitable for us."

The studio emphasized their commitment to their players, stating, "Palworld was never designed with that model in mind, and it would require too much work to adapt the game at this point. Additionally, we are very aware that this just isn't what our players want, and we always put our players first."

Pocketpair remains dedicated to making Palworld "the best game possible" and apologized for any confusion or concern caused by the earlier reports. "We apologize for any concern this may have caused, and we hope this clarifies our position. Thank you for your continued support of Palworld," they concluded.

In an interview with ASCII Japan last week, Palworld CEO Takuro Mizobe discussed future plans for the game, including the addition of new content, new Pals, and raid bosses. However, Pocketpair clarified that the interview was conducted several months ago. The studio also mentioned in their recent statement on Twitter (X) that they are "considering skins and DLC for Palworld in future as a means to support development, but we will discuss this with you all again as we get closer to that point."

In other news related to Palworld, a PS5 version of the game was reportedly spotted on a list of title announcements expected at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show 2024 (TGS 2024) event later this month. According to news site Gematsu, this list, published by Japan’s Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association (CESA), should not be considered "by any means definitive" of potential announcements.