Palworld Director: Nintendo Switch 2 Version Considered if Console Is Powerful Enough

When Pocketpair's monster capturing survival adventure, Palworld, was released, it drew numerous comparisons to the iconic Pokemon series, often being dubbed "Pokemon with guns." Despite the comparisons, which aren't favored by Pocketpair's communications director, John 'Bucky' Buckley, the allure of collecting adorable monsters has led many to inquire about a potential release on the Nintendo Switch, the traditional home of Pokemon games.

However, Buckley has clarified that a Switch release isn't feasible due to technical constraints. He stated, "If we could make the game work on the Switch, we would, but Palworld is a beefy game."

"We haven't seen those specs yet," Buckley noted. "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 considerations, Pocketpair is also navigating a lawsuit from Nintendo concerning alleged patent infringement related to Pokemon's ball-throwing mechanics. This has fueled speculation that the lawsuit might be the true barrier to a Switch release. However, Buckley clarified during his GDC talk that the lawsuit was unexpected and that the team had conducted extensive legal reviews beforehand to avoid such issues. He shared the team's disappointment, saying, "Pretty much everyone at Pocketpair is a huge fan [of Pokemon], so it was a very depressing day, everyone heads down and walking in the rain."

The looming question remains whether Nintendo would permit a game it has legally contested to be released on its next-generation console.

Stay tuned for our full interview with Buckley later this week for more insights on Palworld. In the meantime, now might be the perfect opportunity to return to Palworld, especially with the recent update introducing cross-platform play.