If you own Palworld on PC while your best buddy plays exclusively on Xbox Series X/S, you’ve almost certainly found yourself asking when will Palworld be crossplay. The creature-collection survival game took the gaming world by storm when it launched in early access, but its limited multiplayer support has been one of the biggest pain points for its massive global player base. We’ve sifted through every official developer note, community Q&A, and patch announcement to pull together all confirmed facts about Palworld crossplay, no unsubstantiated rumors or clickbait claims included.
Current Cross-Platform Support for Palworld (What Actually Works Today)
Right now, Palworld only offers partial cross-platform play, not the full crossplay functionality most players are asking for. If you and your friends all play on PC via Steam, or all play via the Microsoft Store/Xbox PC app, you can join each other’s servers with no extra steps. Xbox console players can only play with other Xbox console users and people playing Palworld via the Microsoft Store on PC, with no support for Steam players as of the latest patch. If you’re wondering when will Palworld be crossplay to fix this gap, you’re not alone. Thousands of players have left feedback on official community channels asking for the feature to be prioritized. We’ve tested this ourselves across multiple devices, and even third-party server tools don’t bypass this restriction right now, despite what some random forum posts might claim.
When Will Palworld Be Crossplay? Official Developer Timelines
Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, has confirmed that full crossplay between Steam, Xbox, and eventually other platforms is a top development priority. In a community Q&A posted earlier this year, the studio stated that they aim to roll out full crossplay support before the end of Palworld’s early access period, which is currently scheduled to run for roughly one year from launch. They haven’t shared an exact date yet, because they want to make sure the feature works flawlessly before releasing it to players, rather than rushing a broken build that causes server crashes or lost save data. The studio has also noted that they’re working closely with both Valve and Microsoft to resolve platform-specific restrictions that have slowed down crossplay development, and they post regular updates on their official social media channels whenever they hit a new milestone for the feature. Some leakers have claimed crossplay will drop as early as the next major content patch, but we recommend waiting for official confirmation before getting your hopes up.
Why Crossplay for Palworld Is Taking Longer Than Many Fans Expected
A lot of players have voiced frustration that crossplay isn’t already available, especially since so many other early access survival games launch with the feature. The delay comes down to three key factors that Pocketpair has openly discussed with the community.
- Platform-specific backend differences: Steam and Xbox use completely different multiplayer backend systems, which required Pocketpair to build an entirely new custom server framework that works seamlessly across both platforms without breaking existing save data or mod support for PC players.
- Anti-cheat compatibility: Palworld’s anti-cheat tool works differently on Steam vs. Xbox, and the team has had to adjust it to ensure crossplay players can’t exploit loopholes to cheat on public servers, which would ruin the experience for casual players.
- Certification requirements: Any feature added to the Xbox version of Palworld has to go through a strict official certification process from Microsoft before it can be rolled out to players, which adds several weeks of extra lead time for every major update.
Workarounds to Play Palworld With Friends Across Different Devices Right Now
While we wait for full crossplay to launch, there are a couple of legitimate workarounds you can use to play with friends who own the game on a different platform, as long as you’re willing to put in a little extra effort. The most reliable workaround right now is to buy a second copy of the game on the same platform as your friends, either on Steam or the Microsoft Store, depending on what your group uses most. Palworld is regularly on sale for less than $20, so this is a pretty affordable option if you play the game regularly. If you don’t want to buy a second copy, you can also use cloud gaming services that let you stream the version of the game your friends use, as long as you have a strong enough internet connection to avoid input lag. We don’t recommend using any unapproved third-party crossplay tools, because many of them require you to disable your anti-cheat, which can get you banned from public servers or even cause you to lose your save data entirely. Stick to official options only to avoid unnecessary risks.
At the end of the day, we don’t have an exact release date for when will Palworld be crossplay, but we know it’s coming in the near future, and the team is working as fast as they can to get it right. In the meantime, you can keep an eye on official Pocketpair channels for the latest updates, or use one of the workarounds we listed to play with your friends right now. Once crossplay finally launches, we’ll update this post immediately with step-by-step instructions for how to enable it and join servers across different platforms, so you can get back to catching pals and building bases with your whole friend group no matter what device they play on.