Palworld lead Bucky wants to make sure everyone knows that Side by Side is simply update 1.1, not a sequel or a new spinoff game.
Earlier this week, Palworld announced "Side by Side," which may sound like a subtitle for a sequel or spinoff, but it's actually just the name of the next update for the game, set to release in Winter 2026. It even came with mysterious key art that clearly had some people thinking it was something huge, prompting Pocketpair head of publishing and communications John "Bucky" Buckley to set the record straight.
Over on Twitter, Bucky notes, "Palworld Side by Side is v1.1 by the way." He continues, "I thought that was pretty clear, but it seems quite a few people thought it was a new game announcement." So if you were expecting "Palworld 2 with terrain modification and underwater biomes" like one (joking) response, I'm afraid that's not happening.
Palworld Side by Side is v1.1 by the way! I thought that was pretty clear but, it seems quite a few people thought it was a new game announcement. Anyway…it’s an update. For Palworld. v1.1 😇October 22, 2026
So what does it involve? While we don't yet know, speaking to MP1st recently, Bucky explains that "we’re not quite ready to start teasing it just yet." However, he did reveal one note about what to expect from Palworld Side by Side's 1.1 update, saying, "1.1 isn’t a massive update," but that "we do think players will be pretty happy with it."
One thing you can rule out is Palworld Side by Side adding "100 new Pals," as Bucky said in the same interview that Pocketpair developers "try to add Pals in a meaningful way." We got 72 new pals in the massive 1.0 patch a few months back, so I don't expect we'll see many new additions – if any – this time around.
