Palworld Is Getting an Official MMO Before Pokémon Later This Year

August 4, 2026 - 08:18

Garena and Pocketpair have officially unveiled Palworld Online, a mobile MMORPG that takes the creature-collecting survival phenomenon into a persistent, shared world. The announcement lands well ahead of any official Pokémon MMO, which still has no confirmed release date or even a formal development plan from The Pokémon Company.

The new title will let players explore the Palpagos Islands alongside thousands of others in real time. Unlike the original Palworld, which focuses on solo or small-group survival and base building, Palworld Online shifts the core loop toward large-scale multiplayer interactions. Players will still capture Pals, build bases, and fight bosses, but the emphasis moves to guilds, trading, and territory control across a living server.

Garena, known for its work on mobile battle royale titles like Free Fire, will handle publishing and live operations. Pocketpair remains the developer and will oversee the game's design and creature roster. The two companies say the mobile version is being built from the ground up for touch controls, not just ported from the PC and console editions.

No release window was given beyond a vague "later this year" target, which suggests a beta or soft launch could arrive before the end of 2025. The announcement also confirms that Palworld Online will be free to play, with monetization tied to cosmetics and convenience items rather than pay-to-win mechanics.

The timing is notable. Pokémon has never shipped a true MMO, despite years of fan requests and spin-offs like Pokémon Go and the now-defunct Pokémon Revolution Online. Palworld Online moves into that space first, and with the franchise's existing popularity, it could set the standard for what a creature-collecting MMO looks like on mobile.