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

When Pocketpair launched their monster capturing survival adventure, Palworld, it quickly drew comparisons to Pokemon, earning the nickname "Pokemon with guns." While Pocketpair's communications director, John 'Bucky' Buckley, admits it's not their preferred comparison, the allure of collecting adorable monsters has sparked curiosity about whether Palworld could ever find its way onto the Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately, Buckley has confirmed that a Switch release is unlikely due to technical constraints. "If we could make the game work on the Switch, we would, but Palworld is a beefy game," he stated.

At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, I had the opportunity to speak with Buckley after his talk titled 'Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop.' During our discussion, I inquired about the potential for a release on the rumored Nintendo Switch 2. Buckley expressed interest but noted that they haven't had access to the new console's specifications yet. "We haven't seen those specs yet," he mentioned. "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."

He further added, "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."

Pocketpair is currently involved in a lawsuit with Nintendo over alleged patent infringement concerning Pokemon's ball-throwing mechanics. This has led to speculation that the legal battle might be the real reason Palworld hasn't appeared on the Switch. However, Buckley clarified during his GDC talk that the lawsuit isn't the primary barrier to releasing on Nintendo's platforms. He briefly addressed the lawsuit, noting it was unexpected despite thorough legal checks before the game's release. "Pretty much everyone at Pocketpair is a huge fan [of Pokemon]," Buckley said, "so it was a very depressing day, everyone heads down and walking in the rain."

The question remains: would Nintendo allow a game it's taken issue with to be released on its next-generation console? We'll be posting our full interview with Buckley later this week, so stay tuned for more insights on Palworld. In the meantime, it's a great opportunity to revisit the game, especially with the recent addition of cross-platform play in the latest update.