Xbox Game Pass Adds Day One Open World Game Today

The multiplayer monster-collecting game Palworld is now available on Xbox Game Pass in early access. Developed and published by Pocketpair, the game is available to play on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, as well as PC via Game Pass and Steam. Palworld has been dubbed “Pokemon with guns” by the developer and offers players the chance to fight and team up with creatures called Pals, while also crafting and exploring the game's vast open world and dungeons.

To start with, Palworld features over 100 different adorable Pals to find and collect, each with a unique set of skills and role to play in a party. There will also be boss Pals to conquer and capture, so building the appropriate team before taking them on will be paramount. Like Pokemon, capturing a wild critter involves weakening it sufficiently and then tossing a sphere to suck it up, and those that can’t be captured can be bred with some hard work.

Palworld released on January 19 around the globe at 12:00 AM PST, and for those who don’t have an Xbox Game Pass subscription, the game costs only $29.99 USD. Although it’s only recently launched, the creature-collecting adventure game is already getting overall positive reviews from users and critics alike.

Though compared with The Pokemon Company’s ubiquitous franchise, Pocketpair’s game takes a slightly different approach to creature interaction. In many ways, Palworld lets players be the equivalent of Pokemon’s Team Rocket, exploiting their Pals for hard labor. Although it’s not clear how willing or unwilling they are, the cute critters are put to work on the player’s settlement to complete a range of tasks, including harvesting resources, building structures, defending against encroachers, and crafting tools like guns.

The player can even chow down on their furry unpaid labor if scarcity demands. There are also rare Pals being sheltered in wildlife sanctuaries, and the more unscrupulous of explorers can sneak in and do some poaching to expand their collection or make