Palworld Director on Switch 2: 'Worth Considering' if 'Beefy Enough'

When Pocketpair's monster capturing survival adventure, Palworld, was launched, it drew immediate comparisons to the beloved Pokemon series, with some dubbing it "Pokemon with guns." Despite the comparison not being favored by Pocketpair, as noted by communications director John 'Bucky' Buckley, the allure of collecting adorable creatures has led many to wonder if Palworld might find its way to the Nintendo Switch, the traditional home of Pokemon games.

However, Buckley has clarified that a Nintendo Switch release for Palworld is unlikely, primarily due to technical constraints. "If we could make the game work on the Switch, we would, but Palworld is a beefy game," he stated. This sentiment was shared during a conversation at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, following Buckley's talk titled 'Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop.'

The discussion also touched upon the possibility of a release on the rumored Nintendo Switch 2. Buckley expressed interest but noted that without access to the console's specifications, any potential port remains speculative. "We haven't seen those specs yet," he explained. "Like everyone else, we're waiting. I'm walking around GDC hoping someone will tell me them, but everyone I've spoken to says they haven't even seen them. If it's beefy enough, it's 100% worth considering. We did a lot of optimization for Steam Deck, which we were really happy with. Still work to do, but we're really happy with how it turned out. So we would like to get it on more handhelds if possible."

Amidst these technical discussions, Pocketpair finds itself embroiled in a lawsuit with Nintendo over alleged patent infringement related to Pokemon's ball-throwing mechanics. This legal battle has led to speculation that it might be the real reason behind Palworld's absence from the Switch. However, Buckley clarified during his GDC talk that the lawsuit was not the primary barrier to releasing on Nintendo's platforms. He mentioned that the lawsuit came as a surprise to the team, despite having conducted numerous legal checks prior to the game's release. "Pretty much everyone at Pocketpair is a huge fan [of Pokemon]," Buckley shared, reflecting on the team's disappointment over the legal challenge.

The question remains whether Nintendo would be open to hosting a game it has contested on its next-generation console. As we await further developments, our full interview with Buckley at GDC will be available later this week, offering more insights into Palworld's future. In the meantime, with the recent addition of cross-platform play in a new update, it's an excellent opportunity for players to dive back into the world of Palworld.