Palworld fans 'do not realize the sheer number of collabs we've rejected' even with the survival game's 'fun-first approach

The crowning achievement of a game is no longer player count or Metacritic score, it's actually the number of collabs it can squeeze into its lifecycle—soon every game will collab with each other to make one giant game. I can see it coming.

Although that may not be the case for Palworld , even with its current collabs it won't just let any old IP work with the critters-with-guns survival game.

(Image credit: Pocketpair)

"If it really doesn’t make sense then obviously we would never go ahead with it," the head of publishing and communications, John 'Bucky' Buckley, recently revealed in a social media post (via GamesRadar ). "You guys simply do not realize the sheer number of collabs we've rejected or scrapped for that reason."

All I can say to that is good—collabs for the sake of collabs suck. I'd much rather see games perfect and polish their own artistic vision than fill in the gaps with someone else's ideas. But even if there are going to be collabs the very least a game can do is take this same approach that Palworld seemingly stands by, with it being far more restrictive with what it lets in. Not everyone can be a Fortnite.

Well, I understand what you mean in general but (although obviously biased), I think the Terraria collab in Palworld was pretty great! Completely understand some people would prefer a more lore-first approach but we’ve been very open about our fun-first approach since day 1! ✌️ https://t.co/u0i380BXK8 August 13, 2026

Some of the best collaborations Palworld has are those that slot into place almost seamlessly. Terraria is a good example of such with its creatures and items, like the legendary Meowmere, already looking like they could be found on the Palpagos Islands.

"I think the Terraria collab in Palworld was pretty great," Bucky adds. "Completely understand some people would prefer a more lore-first approach but we've been very open about our fun-first approach since day one!"

Even Palworld's UltraKill collab manages to make sense thanks to all the weapons which are already in the game. Armaments like the Marksman Revolver don't seem so unseemly when players have already had access to the makeshift shotgun or laser rifle in the game. So clearly whatever Pocketpair has on its checklist for collabs is working so far.

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