After two and a half years in early access, it is official: Pocketpair released Palworld version 1.0 on 10 July 2026. Just two days before launch the studio announced more than 40 million players, and according to press reports concurrent player counts spiked to roughly 900,000 after the 1.0 launch. If you run a Palworld server — or plan to start one now — here is everything that matters for the switch.

What is new in Palworld 1.0

The official 1.0 changelog reads like a relaunch of the whole game:

  • Sunreach: a floating island group above Palpagos with its own civilisation, new Pals, tower bosses and ores that can only be mined with specialised equipment.
  • The World Tree: the heart of the Palworld story — and, according to Pocketpair, the greatest challenge the game has offered so far.
  • 72 new Pals bring the total to 287, joined by the new Awakening and Mutation progression systems and a rebalance of all Pals.
  • A much bigger world: Ancient Ruins with minigames and rewards, watchtowers doubling as fast-travel points, seven new small islands across volcano, desert and ruins biomes, new settlements with NPCs and sub-missions, plus enemy bases at sea.
  • Level cap raised from 65 to 80, fully reworked Wildlife Sanctuaries and large-scale overhauls of base building, multiplayer and graphics.

A first patch, v1.0.1, followed on 15 July. Among other things it fixes an issue where save data could be unintentionally discarded after certain operations — do not skip this one.

Important: delete old mods — disabling is not enough

Shortly before launch, Pocketpair published a dedicated mod warning: 1.0 changes the game systems so deeply that leftover mods — especially ones installed long ago — can cause crashes, corrupted save data and quests that can no longer progress. The crucial detail: simply turning mods off is not enough. Mod files and mod loaders that remain in the game folder may still be loaded on startup, even when a mod manager lists them as disabled. Pocketpair explicitly recommends manually deleting old mod files before updating (the official mod guideline explains how) and only reinstalling mods once their creators have updated them for 1.0. Also note: saves that depend on mod content such as added items or Pals may stop working once those mods are removed — take a backup first, always.

How to update your server at game-serverhosting

  1. Take a backup: open the Backups tab in the server panel and save your world — essential before a version jump this big.
  2. Clean out mods: use the file manager to fully remove old mod files and loaders from the server — delete them, do not just disable them.
  3. Move the server to 1.0: use the panel reinstall to bring the server cleanly onto the current version, then restart it. Your backups are kept.
  4. Verify: join once yourself after the restart and glance at the server log — if everything boots cleanly, your community is good to go.

By the way: new Palworld servers at game-serverhosting are ready to play especially quickly — provisioning uses an on-host Steam cache that keeps the game files ready and speeds up installation massively.

FAQ

Will my save games survive the update to 1.0?

In general, yes. Pocketpair names two exceptions: in the random Pal spawn mode, placement data from v0.7.3 and earlier is not carried over, and saves that rely on mod content can break once those mods are removed. A fresh backup covers you either way.

Is disabling mods before the update enough?

No. Pocketpair is explicit: disabled mod files left in the game folder may still get loaded. Delete the files manually — and only reinstall mods once they have been officially updated for 1.0.

What does patch v1.0.1 change?

v1.0.1 from 15 July fixes an issue where save data could be discarded after certain operations, plus a status-effect bug involving campfires. The save fix alone makes this patch important for server owners.

Why is now a good time to start a Palworld server?

1.0 kicks off the biggest Palworld era yet, and many players are returning right now. A dedicated server at game-serverhosting runs around the clock no matter who is online — and thanks to Steam-cache provisioning it is ready to play within minutes.

Does my existing server update itself to 1.0?

Do not count on it — plan the update deliberately: backup first, then delete old mods, then reinstall via the panel. That way your server moves to 1.0 in a controlled fashion with a clean game folder.