‘Palworld’ on Nintendo Switch 2? Pocketpair Says It’s Possible “If it’s beefy enough”
Since its release, Palworld has been compared to Pokémon, often being described as “Pokémon with guns.” While Pocketpair, the game’s developer, isn’t particularly fond of this comparison, many fans have still wondered if Palworld might come to Nintendo’s platform. However, it doesn’t seem likely for the current Switch, mainly due to technical reasons.
Pocketpair’s communications director, John ‘Bucky’ Buckley, confirmed that the game is simply too demanding for the Nintendo Switch. “If we could make the game work on the Switch, we would, but Palworld is a beefy game,” he explained.
At the recent Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, Buckley spoke about the potential for Palworld on Nintendo’s rumored next-generation console, the Switch 2. While Pocketpair is interested, they haven’t yet seen the hardware specifications to determine if a port would be possible.
“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.“
There has been speculation that Palworld‘s absence from Nintendo platforms might have more to do with legal issues rather than hardware limitations. Pocketpair is currently facing a lawsuit from Nintendo over alleged patent infringement related to Pokémon‘s ball-throwing mechanics.
However, Buckley clarified that legal concerns were not the main reason Palworld hasn’t been released on the Switch. Speaking briefly about the lawsuit during his GDC presentation, he mentioned that the team had taken legal precautions before launching the game but was still surprised by Nintendo’s legal action.
“Pretty much everyone at Pocketpair is a huge fan [of Pokémon],” Buckley said. “So it was a very depressing day, everyone heads down and walking in the rain.“
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