The devs behind Palworld have never been shy about collaborations in their monster collector. Valheim, Ultrakill, and Terraria are just three notable partnerships Pocketpair's orchestrated. But the latter drew some ire lately, prompting an explanation on Palworld's collabs from the company's ever-present head of publishing and communications, John "Bucky" Buckley.
"I think the Terraria collab in Palworld was pretty great!" Buckley said on Twitter. "Completely understand some people would prefer a more lore-first approach but we've been very open about our fun-first approach since day one!"
That much is hard to argue against. Palworld's been a joyful, upbeat, anarchic game since the moment it was announced. The "Pokemon, but with guns" first impression gave way to a boisterous blend of survival mechanics and good old fashioned rounding up of cute critters.
Well, I understand what you mean in general but (although obviously biased), I think the Terraria collab in Palworld was pretty great! Completely understand some people would prefer a more lore-first approach but we’ve been very open about our fun-first approach since day 1! ✌️ https://t.co/u0i380BXK8August 13, 2026
Each collaboration has been predicated on increasing the laughter therein – I mean, why else does a game with cute animals work with a game called Ultrakill? On the back of this statement, Buckley then points out that Pocketpair's actually extremely picky about who gets near the massive fantasy adventure.
"If it really doesn’t make sense then obviously we would never go ahead with it," he adds. "You guys simply do not realize the sheer number of collabs we've rejected or scrapped for that reason."
He doesn't provide any further details – why would he? – but given Palworld's huge numbers, especially since launching 1.0, I can easily believe him.
Palworld has a reputation to uphold, and it's admirable Pocketpair's not done anything purely for what'd be an obvious payday, or a higher profile. It just makes the community seem all the more special. I mean, when you're able to do your own weirdo dating sim, what can anyone else offer you, really?
