Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
Not only is Palworld the biggest game of the year so far on Steam, but it is also the most-played game on Xbox consoles and Game Pass. Microsoft has showered Pocketpair’s survival epic with praise thanks to its massive playerbase, and, in an internal town hall meeting with employees, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer reportedly used Palworld to show the future of Xbox games.
The most recent update for Palworld was 0.1.4 and 0.1.1.4 on Steam and Xbox respectively. Pocketpair’s version on Microsoft consoles is admittedly behind the build playable on Steam, but Xbox has committed to partnering with Palworld to improve the console experience. Promised improvements from the partnership include bringing PC-dedicated servers to the console landscape.
Microsoft is undoubtedly impressed by the ‘Pokémon with guns’ smash hit of the year, and it’s nice to see a budding relationship between them and Pocketpair. To further highlight the admiration for Pocketpair’s indie juggernaut, Phil Spencer reportedly used Palworld to show the ambitious future of Xbox games on different platforms.
Microsoft uses Palworld to show the future of Xbox
Per Inverse, Microsoft used Palworld during an internal town hall meeting with employees on February 6th. The meeting was conducted by CEO Phil Spencer along with Xbox President, Sarah Bond. Details of the town hall meeting come courtesy of an employee who was promised anonymity.
During the town hall meeting, images of Palworld were shown across several screens including TVs, mobile devices, tablets, and more handheld devices. This was reportedly a visual representation of Sarah Bond’s message that “Every screen is an Xbox”. Basically, the future of Xbox and its games is the intent to become the number-one cross-platform gaming company existing on multiple kinds of devices.
According to Inverse’s report, ’employees expressed surprise at seeing so much Palworld’. They also supposedly joked about the possibility of an Xbox handheld device ala the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck.
While there were no specific references to a handheld Xbox device, Phil Spencer reportedly assured employees that there would be “future hardware” meaning a new Microsoft console beyond the Series X/S. He also added that gamers can expect a new Call of Duty this October.
There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the future of Xbox as of writing. Major rumors about Xbox exclusives coming to PS5 have been circulating the internet, and Microsoft is set to address these rumors during the upcoming Xbox announcement podcast set to start soon.
As for Palworld, it is a third-party game that could come to PS5 on its own as it is not a Microsoft exclusive despite not finding its way onto PlayStation. Still, it’s really cool that Microsoft used Palworld so much in their key address to employees.
For more Palworld news, fans needn’t worry about the player drop-off on Steam and Xbox yet, and the Pocketpair community manager has given the best response to the player drop-off. In addition, the Palworld CEO has praised the developers for this amazing animation you may not have noticed.
Palworld is available on Steam, Xbox, and Game Pass. Pocketpair has warned about downloading anything claiming to be related to the game on iOS and Android.
