Xbox gamers get ‘Pokemon with guns’ as Palworld comes to Game Pass on day one

Pokemon contender Palworld is bringing its unique take on the monster-taming genre to Game Pass in January.

For the uninitiated, Palworld is a monster-tamer in the vein of Pokemon and Digimon that went viral after prospective players started referring to preview footage as ‘Pokemon with guns’.

The game is currently one of the most wish-listed titles on Steam thanks in large part to its hilarious concept. Gameplay trailers and pre-release previews of Palworld show some darker depths beneath its cartoonish aesthetic that scratches an itch its chief competitor can’t.

Luckily, Xbox players will soon be able to explore those depths for themselves. Developer Pocketpair announced that Palworld’s early access is coming to Xbox Game Pass later this month alongside its launch on Steam.

Of course, calling Palworld ‘Pokemon with guns’ is a little reductive. The game is a tantalizing mish-mash of monster-taming, third-person shooting, MMO, and survival mechanics.

Yes, there are adorable little monsters (Pals) that you can shoot with guns but you can also equip them with their own weapons, ride them, and we’ve even seen footage of someone firing a little penguin Pal from a bazooka.

On top of all that combat fare, Palworld has plenty of survival elements including crafting and an interesting-looking base-building mechanic. You can even build factories and force your Pals into back-breaking servitude to pump out munitions in your war against… something.

The game appears to be primarily focused on multiplayer offerings and features a number of activities to do with, or against, friends. There are dungeons, raid bosses, and Pocketpair has also announced PVP modes for down the line.

At launch, Palworld will support 32 players and there are plans to continuously update the game with new content including new types of Pals. There’s no telling if it will live up to the hype but if you’ve got a Game Pass subscription, it’s probably worth trying it for free.

Palworld’s early access launches on Steam and Xbox consoles on January 19, 2024.