Palworld has finally released its long-awaited 1.0 official version update. The patch notes were astonishingly lengthy—since the update went live, the game's dominance on PC has remained undiminished.
In fact, Palworld continues to rank among the top popular games globally on Steam, maintaining higher popularity than titles like Overwatch and Grand Theft Auto V.
According to Steam250, the title is also the highest-rated game among those released in 2026, surpassing another indie hit, Valheim. This achievement has caught the attention of developer Pocketpair—for this survival game, which has just launched its official version (excluding its Early Access phase), this is truly an remarkable accomplishment.
John "Bucky" Buckley, Head of Publishing and Communications at Pocketpair, responded to the news on Twitter, writing, "Didn't expect this... According to Steam250, Palworld has actually become the highest-rated game on Steam this year!"
He went on to express his gratitude: "Saying the response to version 1.0 exceeded expectations would be an understatement. Thank you to all our fans! The past few years have been like a wonderful journey. Really... thank you everyone!"
Buckley then addressed some of the controversies surrounding Palworld in the past—this isn't his first time responding to such topics; he also discussed the "manufactured outrage" the game faced back in July of this year.
In a follow-up comment, he stated, "Obviously, bashing Palworld is the current trend, but facts speak louder than words. Setting aside those staggering, unparalleled sales figures... the player feedback has been nothing short of miraculous. This is all thanks to you!"
He added another comment joking, "By the way, just wait and see—we probably won't get a single nomination from the major awards." He concluded by saying that Pocketpair "doesn't care at all, because we just want to make good games, but personally, I'd still be a bit upset!"
Palworld's performance has been outstanding, with player reception continuing to improve. The game maintains an "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating on Steam, clearly indicating that the vast majority of players love it.
Of course, only time will tell how the major game awards ceremonies this year ultimately pan out.