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

When Pocketpair's monster capturing survival adventure Palworld launched, it drew comparisons to the iconic Pokemon series, often being dubbed "Pokemon with guns." Despite the comparisons, which aren't Pocketpair's favorite, the allure of collecting adorable monsters has led many to wonder if Palworld would ever make its way to the Nintendo Switch, the preferred platform for Pokemon fans. However, according to Pocketpair's communications director, John 'Bucky' Buckley, a Switch release isn't on the horizon due to technical constraints. "If we could make the game work on the Switch, we would, but Palworld is a beefy game," Buckley explained.

During the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, following his talk titled 'Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop,' Buckley shared more insights. When asked about the possibility of a release on the rumored Nintendo Switch 2, he expressed interest but noted that Pocketpair hasn't yet seen the new console's specifications. "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 Switch is powerful enough, it would be worth considering, especially given their successful optimization efforts for the Steam Deck. "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 is also navigating a lawsuit from Nintendo over alleged patent infringement related to Pokemon's ball-throwing mechanics. This has led to speculation that the lawsuit might be the real reason Palworld hasn't made it to the Switch. However, Buckley clarified during his GDC talk that the lawsuit isn't the primary barrier to releasing on Nintendo's platforms. He mentioned that the lawsuit came as a surprise to the team, despite their efforts to conduct thorough legal checks before the game's release. "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 question remains whether Nintendo would allow a game it has taken issue with to be released on its next-generation console. As we await further developments, our full interview with Buckley from GDC will be posted later this week, offering more insights into Palworld. In the meantime, it's an excellent opportunity to revisit Palworld, especially with the recent addition of cross-platform play in the latest update.