Honestly, 2024 has been a total whirlwind for me and the whole Pocketpair team. The insane success of Palworld? We never saw it coming, not even in our wildest dreams! 🥳 Nine months ago, we were just this small, 30-person studio in Japan, practically unknown outside our home country. Fast forward to now, and everything has changed... yet, somehow, the heart of our company feels the same. "What’s amazing is the culture of the company hasn’t really changed much," as our Global Community Manager, Bucky, puts it. The office is definitely more crowded (our team has more than doubled! 😅), but that positive, passionate vibe is still going strong.

Coming to this year's Tokyo Game Show was a no-brainer for us. We wanted to celebrate with the community that made this all possible! Building our booth was a labor of love—months of prep went into it. Honestly, a lot of the ideas were tested at events in China first. Which brings me to our incredible Chinese fans...

"Our Chinese fans are incredible," Bucky says, and he's so right. China is our biggest market, with about a third of our PC players there. We went to two events there this year, and the support and love were absolutely mind-blowing. 🤯 We never expected it, but we are so, so grateful. We think Palworld's deep survival mechanics and its long-term gameplay loop really resonate there.

Speaking of the long-term, yes, we call Palworld a game with a 'long lifecycle,' even though it's still in Early Access! We've been committed to regular updates since our launch back in January, and that's not stopping anytime soon. Our motto is simple: "As long as people keep playing it, we’ll keep making it." 💪

So, what's on the horizon? Get ready!

• A substantial update later this year! 🚀

• Next year, we're going hard on optimization to make the game run smoother than ever.

• PvP is still on our minds, but it's a tough nut to crack—we're experimenting!

• We're expanding the Palworld IP beyond just the game. Our partnership with Sony Music and Aniplex is just the start!

Let's clear the air on a couple of things, too. Despite what you might have heard:

❌ No free-to-play model. We're not going that route.

❌ No battle pass or paid DLC... for now. We're thinking about cosmetics, but nothing is set in stone.

Now, about the elephant in the room... the lawsuit. Look, it came as a complete surprise to us—no warning at all, and we still don't even know the specifics of the patent claims. 😕 But let me be crystal clear: This will not change our plans. We refuse to let it derail Palworld's future. "We march on," as Bucky vows. Our vision for the game is unwavering.

The journey for Palworld is really just beginning. With a strong vision, a passionate team that's grown but kept its soul, and PS5 sales off to a fantastic start, we're more excited than ever for what's to come. The road ahead is dynamic, full of updates, and built for the long haul with our amazing community. The best is yet to come! ✨