Palworld differences between Game Pass and Steam versions, explained

Palworld has seemed like a fever dream since it was first announced, but by some miracle, it’s real. Also, it’s generally pretty good! Most aspiring No-kémon trainers are playing it on Steam and Game Pass at the moment, but you should know the two platforms aren’t equivalent right now.

What is the best version of Palworld?

As of writing, the Steam version of Palworld is more recently updated than the Game Pass version. Players on Valve’s platform will see that they are playing version 0.1.2.0 of Palworld, while Game Pass players are on 0.1.0.0. The game is still playable on Game Pass, but it lacks some key features and quality-of-life improvements. For instance, the Game Pass version currently has faulty button prompts, overall slower crafting, and it doesn’t have the option to exit the game without a force quit. Certainly not up to launch standards, to say the least.

Players have reported other issues with the Game Pass version of Palworld, so just keep that in mind if you’re choosing which version to play. However, there’s one thing you should consider above everything else.

Does Palworld have crossplay between Steam and Game Pass?

Unfortunately, Palworld lacks crossplay between Game Pass and Steam for now. In the official Palworld Early Access Launch FAQ, developer Pocketpair notes that Xbox and Steam players cannot play Palworld together at launch. However, the developer mentions they are “working to make this a possibility as soon as possible!”

Pocketpair has not addressed this issue further than that, so we can only speculate what “as soon as possible” means in this case. Regardless, if you’re looking to play Palworld with your friends right now, make sure everyone chooses the same version.

When will the Game Pass version of Palworld get updated?

Again, we unfortunately can only speculate if and when Palworld will receive updates on Game Pass. We can read into the statement above on crossplay and optimistically hope that means an update is coming soon. However, only Pocketpair can officially confirm this.

That said, for context, this isn’t the first time a different version of a game has launched on Game Pass. Conan Exiles infamously had the same issue, so Palworld‘s discrepancy has precedent. Conan Exiles was fixed within a few days, so hopefully Palworld will turn around an update just as promptly.

The prospect that Palworld will never see updates on Game Pass is unlikely, given the game’s immediate success. However, if you’re deciding whether to play Palworld on Steam or Game Pass, your best option may be to wait until we know for sure if and when an update is coming. The Steam version is undoubtedly the better version of the game for now. So if you want to play today and price is not a factor, pick that one.