Palworld Developer Tells Fans to "Stop Getting Baited" Into Player Count Arguments

Should player count numbers matter all that much?

By Marc Deschamps

A game's player count is a fascinating metric for a lot of people. Since sales numbers are often hard to come by, player count is a way for fans to see how many people are playing a game, and gauge a game's success. Unfortunately, the availability of those statistics can lead to more of the same drama that so often circulates on social media. Pocketpair's community manager "Bucky" reminded fans just that in a new post shared on X/Twitter. In the post, Bucky addressed those bashing the game's current numbers, and fans that feel obligated to defend Palworld.

"Palworld had 2mil, then it had 15k, now it has 140k…it's not something to get angry about. In a few weeks it'll go down again, and next major update it'll go up. That's just how it works," Bucky writes. "Palworld could have literally 1 person playing it and that won't take away from the fact that YOU played a fun game and have fun memories of it." 

This is not the first time that Pocketpair has addressed this topic of conversation. In a post back in February, just weeks after the game's launch, Bucky called the player base discourse "lazy," telling fans that they "don't need to feel guilty about hopping from game to game." It's sometimes easy to forget that no one ever expected Palworld to do these kinds of numbers, and the game's success has far exceeded expectations. At the end of the day, it's Pocketpair's job to keep players invested in Palworld, and fans just shouldn't sweat it. Major updates will pull players back in as they get released, and there's no need to get involved in silly debates fighting for the game's honor. 

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Palworld actually did just receive a significant update a few days ago, offering several changes, as well as a new island to explore. That lines up pretty well with what Bucky is saying; according to numbers obtained from SteamDB, the game's player count has gotten a fairly significant boost compared to the rest of the month. And even if it does drop off after a bit, there's more content on the way later this year, such as the Pal Arena PvP mode. 

Do you put a lot of stock in player count numbers? Is Palworld still holding your interest? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

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