If you’ve spent dozens of hours rounding up Pals, building sprawling bases, and fending off rogue Pal trainers in Palworld’s early access, you’ve probably wondered when is Palworld full release. The viral creature-survival hybrid took the gaming world by storm when it launched in early access in January 2023, selling over 25 million copies in its first year alone, but players have been waiting patiently for the official 1.0 launch that will wrap up unfinished features and fix longstanding bugs. I’ve been playing Palworld since its first early access patch, and I’ve dug through official dev updates, community leaks, and closed playtest notes to pull together all the confirmed and rumored details about the full launch.
When Is Palworld Full Release: Confirmed Launch Timelines and Dev Updates
When Pocketpair first launched Palworld in early access, they stated they planned to stay in early access for roughly one year before releasing the full 1.0 version. That initial timeline would have put the full release in early 2024, but the devs pushed the date back earlier this year to accommodate extra feature additions and polish. As of the latest official dev blog from Q3 2024, the full 1.0 release is scheduled for late 2024, with no specific exact date announced yet. Pocketpair has stated they will announce the exact release date at least 2 months in advance, so players have time to wrap up any ongoing early access playthroughs if they want to start fresh for 1.0.
Some closed playtest leaks suggest the launch could land in mid-November 2024, but these are unconfirmed, so you should only trust official announcements from the Pocketpair X (Twitter) account, Steam news page, or official Discord server. The devs have been releasing monthly content drops throughout 2024, including new Pals, biomes, and quality of life fixes, to get the game closer to its full release state with every patch. But the devs made it clear that they would rather delay the launch than release a half-finished 1.0 version that disappoints fans, which is a big shift from many early access games that rush to full release to cash in on hype.
Key Features Coming to the Palworld Full Release
The early access version of Palworld only includes about 60% of the content the devs planned for the full game, so the 1.0 launch will add a ton of new content that players have been asking for since day one. Most of these features have been confirmed directly by Pocketpair, either in dev blogs or official community Q&As:
So if you bought the game during early access, you won’t have to pay extra for any of the new 1.0 content, which is a big win for players who supported the game early on. Pocketpair has also confirmed that they will continue releasing free content updates after the 1.0 launch, so the game will keep growing even after the full release, with new Pals, events, and features added every few months.
Will Your Early Access Progress Carry Over to the Full Release?
This is one of the most asked questions in the Palworld community, and the devs have given mixed updates over the past year, but we finally have a clear answer for most players. For single-player and private server players, your save file will carry over to the full release with no issues, though you may encounter some minor bugs if you have a lot of mods installed, so it’s a good idea to back up your save before the 1.0 patch drops. The devs are working to make as many early access saves compatible as possible, so you won’t lose your 100+ hour base or fully leveled Pals if you play offline or on a private server with friends.
For official public server players, however, the devs have announced that they will be wiping all official server saves to coincide with the full release, to give all players a fresh start on the updated, balanced version of the game. That means if you have a base on an official public server, you’ll want to either move it to a private server before the launch, or accept that you’ll have to rebuild from scratch when 1.0 drops. I’d recommend making a local backup of your save file at least once a week in the months leading up to the full release, just to be safe. I lost a 70-hour playthrough to a corrupted save after a patch last year, and I don’t want that to happen to anyone else right before the full launch. Modded saves may have more compatibility issues, so if you use a lot of overhaul mods, you may want to wait a few weeks after the full release for mod developers to update their content before you load your old save.
What You Can Do While You Wait for the Palworld Full Release
If you’re bored of the current early access content and want to pass the time until the full launch, there are tons of ways to get more out of Palworld right now, without having to wait for new official content. First, you can try out some of the thousands of community mods available for the PC version of the game. Mods add everything from new Pals and custom biomes to complete gameplay overhauls that make the game feel totally new, and most popular mods will be updated to work with the full release once it launches. You can also join the official Palworld playtest program to get early access to new features before they roll out to all players, and give feedback to the devs that can shape the final version of the full release. Playtest spots are limited, but they open up new spots every few months, so keep an eye on the official Palworld Discord if you want to sign up.
If you don’t want to mess with mods or playtests, you can also try out challenge runs to make the current early access content feel fresh. Some popular challenge runs include only using grass-type Pals for your entire playthrough, building a base entirely in the dangerous volcanic biome, or trying to beat all the current tower bosses without using any weapons, only your Pals. I tried the no-weapon challenge run earlier this year, and it was way more fun than I expected, even though it took me three times as long to beat the first tower boss. You can also spend time catching all the current Pals and filling out your Paldeck, since your Paldeck progress will carry over to the full release if you keep your save file. That way, you’ll already have a head start on completing the full Paldeck once 1.0 adds the 50+ new Pals.
At the end of the day, it’s normal to be impatient to find out when is Palworld full release, but the extra time the devs are taking to polish the game means the 1.0 launch will be way more complete and fun to play than if they had rushed it out to hit the initial 1-year early access window. As long as you follow official Pocketpair updates, back up your saves regularly, and take advantage of the current early access content to pass the time, you’ll be ready to jump into the full release as soon as it drops. And if you haven’t tried Palworld yet, there’s never been a better time to pick it up, since you’ll get access to the full release for no extra cost when it launches.