Palworld Director: Switch 2 Version Viable if 'Beefy Enough'

When Pocketpair launched their monster capturing survival adventure game, Palworld, it quickly drew comparisons to Pokemon, often being referred to as "Pokemon with guns." While Pocketpair's communications director, John 'Bucky' Buckley, isn't fond of the comparison, the allure of collecting adorable monsters has led many to wonder if Palworld might make its way to the Nintendo Switch, the home of Pokemon.

However, Buckley dashed those hopes at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, citing technical challenges as the primary barrier. "If we could make the game work on the Switch, we would, but Palworld is a beefy game," he explained. The game's demanding nature makes it incompatible with the current Switch hardware.

During the conference, Buckley also touched on the possibility of a release on the rumored Nintendo Switch 2. He expressed interest but noted that without access to the new console's specifications, it's too early to determine if a port is feasible. "We haven't seen those specs yet," Buckley said. "Like everyone else, we're waiting. I'm walking around GDC hoping someone will tell me them, but everyone I've spoken to says they haven't even seen them."

He added, "If it's beefy enough, it's 100% worth considering. We did a lot of optimization for Steam Deck, which we were really happy with. Still work to do, but we're really happy with how it turned out. So we would like to get it on more handhelds if possible."

The discussion around Palworld's potential on Nintendo platforms is further complicated by an ongoing lawsuit from Nintendo, alleging patent infringement related to Pokemon's ball-throwing mechanics. While some speculate this might be the real reason Palworld hasn't appeared on the Switch, Buckley clarified during his GDC talk that the lawsuit isn't the primary obstacle to releasing on Nintendo's platforms.

Buckley briefly addressed the lawsuit, admitting it caught the team off guard despite thorough legal checks before the game's release. "Pretty much everyone at Pocketpair is a huge fan [of Pokemon]," he shared, "so it was a very depressing day, everyone heads down and walking in the rain."

The looming question remains: would Nintendo allow a game they've taken issue with to be released on their next-generation console?

Stay tuned for our full interview with Buckley later this week for more insights on Palworld. In the meantime, now's a great time to dive back into Palworld, as it recently introduced cross-platform play in its latest update.