Garena previously announced that it was publishing the Timi-developed Monster Hunter Outlanders in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. Today, the company announced another project, but with greater involvement from itself. It is developing and publishing Palworld Online, a licensed mobile MMORPG based on the crafting survival title that got its 1.0 launch recently. The company said that this will be launched sometime this year, but no specifics have been shared for now.
Because this is officially licensed, it does involve Pocketpair, the devs of the original game, to some degree. But otherwise, Garena says that Palworld Online will feature “a new narrative setting with original story elements, while expanding into a Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) ecosystem”. Company president Terry Zhao said that “we are focused on preserving the depth, immersion, and freedom that define Palworld, while thoughtfully optimising the experience for mobile play”.
Because this is made as an MMO, there’s a greater emphasis on having players work together and “form groups, build shared settlements, and engage in cooperative and competitive activities”. As part of the announcement, the company said that “those seeking a more relaxed pace can visit others’ bases, team up to fight rampaging bosses in the open world, or hunt down rare Pals together”, but all of that sounds like something that will only work out when playing with already established groups of friends, rather than newly-forming ones.
All that being said, because Palworld Online will be a mobile title, it will be optimised with that in mind. This means a touch-friendly interface, plus the optional one-tap controls to make things easier to manage on handheld devices. The company does claim that this can be done “without sacrificing depth or flexibility”, though the proof will be in the pudding for that.
As mentioned earlier, Garena has only said that Palworld Online is scheduled to be available in 2026. Further details, including launch timelines, will be shared at a later date. It will, notably, be something that’s separate from the mobile port by Krafton.
