Palworld Director: Nintendo Switch 2 Version Worth Considering if 'Beefy Enough'

When Pocketpair released their monster capturing survival game, Palworld, it quickly drew comparisons to the Pokemon series, earning the nickname "Pokemon with guns." While Pocketpair's communications director, John 'Bucky' Buckley, isn't fond of the comparison, the allure of collecting cute monsters has led many to wonder if Palworld would ever be released on the Nintendo Switch, the preferred platform for Pokemon games.

Unfortunately, Buckley has confirmed that a Nintendo Switch release is unlikely due to technical limitations. "If we could make the game work on the Switch, we would, but Palworld is a beefy game," he explained. During a conversation at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, following his talk titled 'Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop,' Buckley also discussed the potential for a Nintendo Switch 2 release. He expressed interest but noted that Pocketpair hasn't had access to the new console's specifications yet. "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," Buckley said. He added that if the new console is powerful enough, it would be worth considering, especially given their successful optimization efforts for the Steam Deck.

Amidst these technical considerations, Pocketpair is also dealing with a lawsuit from Nintendo over alleged patent infringement related to Pokemon's ball-throwing mechanics. Some speculate this could be the real reason Palworld hasn't appeared on the Switch. However, Buckley clarified during his GDC talk that the lawsuit was unexpected, and despite thorough legal checks before the game's release, the team was disheartened by the legal action. "Pretty much everyone at Pocketpair is a huge fan [of Pokemon]," Buckley shared, "so it was a very depressing day, everyone heads down and walking in the rain."

The overarching question remains: would Nintendo permit a game it has taken issue with to be released on its next-generation console? We will be posting our full interview with Buckley later this week, so stay tuned for more insights on Palworld. In the meantime, with the recent addition of cross-platform play in a new update, it's an excellent opportunity to dive back into the world of Palworld if you've taken a break.