Palworld will receive a Side by Side update in winter 2026: what is known about version 1.1
Pocketpair Studios has announced the next major update to Palworld. It is called Side by Side and will be released in the winter of 2026 - the developers have not yet announced the exact date.
The announcement coincided with the results of a global vote for the most popular characters in the game in 2026. And this is no coincidence: the only teaser image shows three silhouettes against a neon background, and fans almost immediately recognized them as Zoe, Auri and Saya - they were the ones who took the first three lines of the rating among people. Zoe scored 133,221 votes, Auri - 114,226, Saya - 85,957. Among the creatures, Sekhmet took first place. Given the name of the update, players are speculating that the focus will shift from catching fingers to human partners.
Not a sequel, but version 1.1
Many took the mysterious teaser as an announcement of a new game, and the studio had to clarify the situation. Pocketpair Publishing Head John Buckley said that Side by Side is a regular update to version 1.1, available to all owners of the game for free.
- The update will not be gigantic: according to Buckley, “you can’t call it massive,” but players will “definitely like it.”
- Don't expect a wave of hundreds of new creatures - the studio is adding fingers meaningfully so that everyone has their own role.
- The underwater biome, which fans have been asking for for a long time, will not happen again: the developers have repeatedly said that there are no such plans.
When to expect details
Side by Side will be the first branded content addition since Palworld left early access - version 1.0 was released on July 10, 2026. Since then, the game has only received technical patches and two small story missions. The update will be released on the same platforms: PC (Steam and Microsoft Store), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.
Journalists admit that a full-fledged Side by Side show could be staged at The Game Awards in December, but this is still just a guess. The only official response from the developers is “stay tuned, we’ll tell you more soon.”
Source: pocketpair.jp , gamesradar.com