Palworld shuts down inflammatory “dead game” remarks following big Sakurajima update 

When Palworld was released in early access on January 19, 2024, people were drawn to its Pokémon-like creatures called Pals and how they were used for manual labor, food, and as soldiers in a small military unit. Nicknamed by many as “Pokémon with guns”, Palworld rose to the top of the Steam player charts before gradually decreasing as players completed the available content. With the release of the new Sakurajima update, however, Palworld has had a massive spike in players. In addition, the title’s community manager Bucky made a statement encouraging players not to engage in “ragebait” player number arguments. 

What’s new in Palworld? 

By far the biggest addition to Palworld is the new island called Sakurajima. It is here where a giant tower protected by a new enemy faction called “The Moonflowers” lies – prompting players to liberate the island from their grasp. Sakurajima is also home to new Pals that players can capture and order around – effectively swapping one dictator group for another. 

Aside from Sakurajima Island, a new PVP arena has been added in the Desiccated Desert for those who want to pit their Pals against other players. Those who prefer co-op aren’t left out either, as a new Oil Rig stronghold controlled by the Rayne Syndicate will allow friends to work together to take over it. 

This isn’t all that the Sakurajima update has to offer. The level cap has been increased to 55, new resources, weapons, cosmetics, and a new merchant are now available, a Tower Boss Hard Mode has been included, and best of all, a new Blazamut Ryu raid boss will test the skills of endgame aficionados. There is a lot of new content in Palworld, and those looking for a detailed list can find the patch notes here. 

Palworld’s Sakurajima update has increased the game’s player count 

With all this new content that was just released, Palworld’s concurrent player count on Steam currently stands at just over 128,000 players. While the number doesn’t quite match the 2-million-player-count the game had when it initially launched in Early Access, that’s still a lot of players compared to Palworld’s all-time low of 31,074 players. This low player count prompted online discourse about whether Palworld was a “dead game” or not. 

PocketPair’s Global Community Manager known as Bucky was one of the people on the receiving end of inflammatory comments regarding Palworld’s dwindling player count. The recent player increase from the game’s Sakurajima update prompted Bucky to share a screenshot from SteamDB showing Palworld’s current in-game player count, which stood at 100,551 players. Palworld hasn’t officially launched yet, but if the developers keep adding substantial content updates regularly, then player interest in this “Pokémon with guns” game will hopefully never wane.