Palworld on Xbox Doesn’t Have Dedicated Servers, Limiting Co-Op to 2-4 Players While Steam Gets Up to 32 Players

19.01.2024 - 14:35 / ign.com

'Pokémon With Guns' survival game Palworld is currently blowing up on Steam, where players can create and join dedicated servers that enable up to 32 players to play in the same world and create guilds together. On Xbox however, co-op is much more limited.

Speaking in the Palword Discord, developer Pocketpair said those playing on Xbox console or Xbox PC through Game Pass or the Microsoft Store cannot create or join dedicated servers, which means online co-op is limited to between two and four players.

“We’d like to have dedicated servers on Xbox but it’s unfortunately not up to us and is quite difficult to negotiate at this time!” a Pocketpair representative said. “But… we are trying!”

It's unclear what Pocketpair means when it says the addition of dedicated servers on Xbox is "not up to us", when other games do have dedicated servers on Xbox. IGN has asked for comment.

It’s a disappointing start for Palworld on Xbox and Windows PC, and comes as Palworld on Steam looks set to break concurrent player records heading into the weekend. At the time of this article’s publication, an incredible 318,000 accounts were flagged as playing Palword at the same time, making it the third most-popular game on Steam. The lack of dedicated servers on Xbox will likely influence platform purchasing decisions, especially from customers hoping to play the game with a large group of friends.

Meanwhile, at the launch, Xbox players will only be able to play together, not with those on Steam. “We are working to make this a possibility as soon as possible!” Pocketpair said. This also means PC Game Pass players can not play with Steam until crossplay is added.

As for a PlayStation 5 version, Pocketpair said there are no plans at the moment, but will consider it during development.

Here’s how does multiplayer works in Palworld: On Steam, you can play Palworld with up to three friends by simply starting a multiplayer game and inviting them (four-player co-op). Beyond this, you can create a dedicated server, which will allow for up to 32 players to play in the same world and create guilds together. There are also official servers managed by Pocketpair.

Xbox players, then, aren’t enjoying the same experience as Steam players, and currently cannot play with Steam users. Fingers crossed parity is achieved sooner rather than later.

Check out IGN’s Palworld Early Access Review in Progress to find out what we think.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].