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[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

What you need to know​

• Palworld dev Pocketpair has explained why the Xbox and Microsoft Store version of the game is missing features the Steam one has.
• Its community manager, Bucky, says that the studio is currently trying to get a patch through Microsoft's certification process and that "some of these things will take extra time."
• Though Pocketpair is "desperately trying to speed this up," this process has to be completed before updates can go live.
• The developer also explained that Steam and Xbox version numbers may always be different due to different underlying architectures, so players shouldn't consider them evidence that one platform is "behind" another. ]

Pocketpair's new open world survival game Palworld has been enjoying a ridiculous amount of success since its recent Early Access launch on Xbox and PC, as well as Xbox Game Pass. Its creative blend of survival and base-building mechanics with a mix of creature collection and combat gameplay that's basically "Pokémon with guns" has quickly become extremely popular, with the game now even breaking 1 million concurrent players and shattering Steam records. But while Palworld has prospered on Valve's PC gaming client, players have noticed that the Xbox and Microsoft Store version is currently missing features and fixes.

Many — including myself — assumed this was due to Palworld's earlier version number on Xbox at first. However, after joining Pocketpair's Discord server to try and find more information, I spotted a few recent posts from its community manager Bucky that clear things up. They said that the version numbers between platforms may always be different since they're two different versions of the game, and that the actual reason why the Xbox version is currently missing features is because updates have to go through Microsoft's certification queue.

"On Steam, applied 2 days ago. On Xbox, sitting in the MS certification queue," wrote Bucky in a reply to a fan asking about when a hotfix would be pushed live. Then, in another response to a post about feature parity: "Some of these things will take extra time...we're really at the mercy of the certification here. We're desperately trying to speed this up."

"Issues like the missing exit game button etc are not a result of an 'older build', these are separate issues. In fact, Steam and Xbox will likely never have identical version numbers until the games are brought to be cross play compatible because at that point they will be the same game internally," they explained in a longer statement. "Again, that doesn't mean Xbox is necessarily 'behind' or anything, they are just just fundamentally two different versions of the game because of the architecture on Xbox is different."

So, there you have it. While Pocketpair aims to get the Xbox/MS Store port of Palworld in line with the Steam one as soon as possible, it's taking some extra time to do so because the developer has to go through Microsoft's update certification process.

In terms of what's actually different between the two editions of Palworld, Xbox and Microsoft Store users are unfortunately missing quite a bit. Players on Reddit have been taking note of everything in the Steam version that's not in the others, and so far, that list includes the following:

• Considerably faster crafting
• 3 Arrows/craft (currently, you get 1)
• Using Technology Points to unlock Statues of Power (currently, you need Ancient Technology Points)
• The ability to name your character
• The ability to rename Pals
• Sound effects that are missing from Xbox/MS Store version
• An exit button to close the game

If this situation sounds familiar, it's because something similar happened with Conan Exiles back in 2022. Notably, that problem was taken care of pretty quickly, so hopefully Pocketpair is able to get Palworld patched on Xbox and PC Game Pass/the Microsoft Store swiftly.

While I'm glad that we now know why Palworld is currently missing features on Xbox, the Microsoft Store, and Xbox Game Pass, that's information I shouldn't have to dig through a Discord server to find. Pocketpair should have made this clear on larger channels like its official Twitter account (or X, I guess), and I hope it does so if similar situations arise in the future. Although, it seems that right now, the game only has one community manager trying to field questions from every corner of the internet right now.

This would perhaps be the ideal kind of scenario for Microsoft to step in and offer some support. Right now, the game has ended up as a defacto timed exclusive for Xbox, owing to its Xbox Game Pass inclusion. I'm not sure Microsoft (or Pocketpair) expected the game to blow up like it has. Perhaps there's a real opportunity here for Microsoft to offer improved support in exchange for ongoing exclusivity, given that Xbox often is criticized for its line up (although the list of upcoming Xbox games is looking might spicy right now.)

Above all else, though, it's just good to know that the Xbox / MS Store version of Palworld will get updated soon. Hopefully future patches are able to get through Microsoft's certification process faster.

Palworld dev explains Steam and Xbox differences, missing features: "We're really at the mercy of the certification here"

Here's why some important features are missing from Palworld on Xbox and Game Pass.

www.windowscentral.com

 

[FoxMcChief]

This has always been a thing.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Sounds like a way to try to upsell you to buy their game which is shite. I do believe in the shananagans from a cert stand point but they also want you to buy their game.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

always a caveat with Xbox

 

[Clintizzle]

It will be interesting to see how quickly Xbox responds to this. Let's hope it gets resolved quickly.

Just keep in mind that certification is a good thing. Xbox needs to ensure that the process is as streamlined as possible.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Let's hope it gets resolved quickly.

Will never be resolved. It's always like this. Sadly, they caried the PC version on MS Store the same way.

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

It will be interesting to see how quickly Xbox responds to this. Let's hope it gets resolved quickly.

Just keep in mind that certification is a good thing. Xbox needs to ensure that the process is as streamlined as possible.

Aside from certification delayed, I've noticed quite a few games from PC centric devs are 1 or 3 patches behind their PC counterparts ..not saying that's the case here but I usually chalk this up to "shitty devs/shitty pubs/resource starved" etc more than I do the cert. process. Common with Euro arpgs/crpgs ..

 

[JimboJones]

always a caveat with Xbox

This is a console thing in general, red tape just to push updates out.

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

Will never be resolved. It's always like this. Sadly, they caried the PC version on MS Store the same way.

Exactly there are lots of games 1 or 2 patches behind their PC versions .. maybe this actually gets resolve because of popularity and $$$ potential

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

This is a console thing in general, red tape just to push updates out.

yeah. but this is about this game specifically.

 

[jshackles]

Glad to hear that crafting won't always be this slow... and that I'll eventually be able to have a proper name instead of "Player 988"

Also, button prompts would be appreciated.

 

[JimboJones]

yeah. but this is about this game specifically.

Yeah, I agree console certification taking so long sucks for this game.

 

[SF Kosmo]

Even Starfield is behind on Game Pass. Certification process exists for a reason, it's okay if patches take a little longer on console, it's just the kind of thing you would hope to at least get synced up for the launch of your game...

 

[Calverz]

Ok but I’d still rather play it for free.

 

[Three]

Not so early early access.

 

[Mortisfacio]

Another reason I prefer Steam. See too many games delayed on Xbox/Playstation due to certification. Ark, CyberPunk, Avengers, Xdefiant, etc. all have received various delays on version updates due to the cert process while I'm actively enjoying the updated versions on Steam or GOG.

 

[JimboJones]

Another reason I prefer Steam. See too many games delayed on Xbox/Playstation due to certification. Ark, CyberPunk, Avengers, Xdefiant, etc. all have received various delays on version updates due to the cert process while I'm actively enjoying the updated versions on Steam or GOG.

Apparently it was a reason why Valve ditched console porting after being relatively active during the 360/PS3 gen.

Newell said he also bristles at the red tape that gets in the way of releasing quick updates on consoles, as well as mobile platforms like iOS. "There have been cases where we've updated products five to six times in a day [on Steam]," he told Eurogamer. "When we did the original iOS of Steam App, right, we shipped it, we got a whole bunch of feedback and like the next day we're ready to do an update. We weren't able to get that update out for six months!

"I'm sure that other people are wildly successful in those environments, but sort of our DNA tend to not work well when someone is trying to insert a lot of process between us and our customers," he continued.

These kinds of complaints were very common all around console development in 2012. Back then, Fez developer Phil Fish voiced complaints about the high fees and long wait times for "recertification" of simple patches for console releases, especially on the Xbox 360. Those complaints were echoed by many other independent developers, some of whom described the console update process as "excruciating."

This was over 10 years ago, I'd assume it's maybe a little better now but obviously from what we are hearing from Palworld it's probably just always going to be a thing in closed platforms.

 

[March Climber]

 

[Magic Carpet]

Would be nice to end a game without having to CtlAltDel and kill the game in task manager.
Despite all the PC Gamepass issues my Palbase is going strong.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Certification has always been a thing on consoles...since forever. It gets highlighted in these scenarios. I would imagine Microsoft will be all over this tomorrow. Hopefully the popularity pushed the update through!

Loving the game, level 20 now and me and the squad are hooked.

I'll give them a couple of days to sort it out and if they don't I'll buy it on steam and rent a server lol

 

[Xcell Miguel]

Even Starfield is behind on Game Pass. Certification process exists for a reason, it's okay if patches take a little longer on console, it's just the kind of thing you would hope to at least get synced up for the launch of your game...

Starfield is not behind on Game Pass, it gets updates at the same time as Steam (and sometimes a few hours earlier).
It's just that they added a Beta branch on Steam to test future updates, but otherwise they release the updates at the same time.

Cities Skylines 2 got updates on Steam 2 or 3 days before the MS Store, now they get updates at the same time.
Did MS allow them to push updates quicker or do the devs plan the update on Steam with the MS Store certification ?

I'll give them a couple of days to sort it out and if they don't I'll buy it on steam and rent a server lol

Same, I even found a tool to get my save from the MS Store version on PC to use it on Steam : https://github.com/Z1ni/XGP-save-extractor
But I'll wait a couple of days, I played a bit on Xbox to get the controller prompts, now I play on PC as it runs and look way better, no prompts but I know them now.

Would be nice to end a game without having to CtlAltDel and kill the game in task manager.
Despite all the PC Gamepass issues my Palbase is going strong.

Alt+F4 is quicker.
And CTRL+Shift+Esc is quicker to open the Task Manager if you need to.

 

[jshackles]

Did MS allow them to push updates quicker or do the devs plan the update on Steam with the MS Store certification ?

Part of the delay in the certification process here is that Palworld has yet to receive a single patch. Typically, after the first few patches are approved through Microsoft's certification process, it becomes more and more automated until the devs can eventually push out patches quite quickly without too much interference.

But since the game just released and has not received any patches in the Microsoft ecosystem, it's going to have to go through a manual (checked by a person) process - which typically takes weeks. Hopefully, the game's popularity helps them jump the queue and go straight to the front of the line for being certified tomorrow when business resumes.

 

[JackMcGunns]

yeah. but this is about this game specifically.

It’s a console thing, Sony also has a certification process, you’re being disingenuous and implying as being an “Xbox only” thing.

 

[Magic Carpet]

New update fixes many of the UI issues I was having with PC Gamepass. Controller Prompts and status popups. I can also exit the game through the menu, Still no DLSS though my computer dosn't need it.

 

[Dolomite]

always a caveat with Xbox

Always been a thing.
MS and I imagine Sony have their own hoops to jump through for Dev updates :/

The early access version on GP is still addicting as fuck though

 

[RiccochetJ]

Isn't the certification process for consoles things like making sure that pressing the xbox, ps, or nintendo home button correctly brings up their respective dashboards, correctly closing the application, or basically things that outright affect core console operations?

 

[Holammer]

Back in the day a cert cost 40k dollars. A reason why a critical bug was left unfixed for Fez on the 360 version and Valve abandoned Team Fortress 2 & CSGO on the consoles.
Now there's no cost, but it still takes time. While Valve's policy is "Whatever, we got the 100$ publishing fee. Knock yourselves out".

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

I'm about to re-join GP to play Persona 3 Reload, so I'll get to try Palworld out finally.

 

[Filben]

Again, that doesn't mean Xbox is necessarily 'behind' or anything, they are just just fundamentally two different versions of the game because of the architecture on Xbox is different.

But they also literally told us, that one patch was applied two days ago while they're still waiting on Xbox for the same patch. So what is it then?

 

[Little Chicken]

Stopped playing on Xbox after I logged in yesterday and my entire inventory was missing lol.

 

[FoxMcChief]

That’s the nature of console gaming.