Pocketpair Head of Communications Says “Palworld Isn’t a Live Service Anyway,” Confirms It Has No Planned End-of-Service Shutdown

Concerns about online games disappearing after publishers discontinue support have become increasingly common, but Pocketpair says Palworld isn’t facing that problem. Following the shutdown of several high-profile online titles in recent years, players asked what would happen to Palworld once official support eventually comes to an end.

Responding to a question on the official Palworld Discord, Pocketpair Head of Publishing and Communications John Buckley dismissed concerns that the game would receive a traditional end-of-service announcement. He stated,

“Palworld isn’t a live service anyway so… why would you assume it had an ‘end of service’?” 

Self-hosted servers give Palworld long-term longevity

Unlike many online-focused games that rely entirely on publisher-operated servers, Palworld supports both single-player and multiplayer gameplay while also allowing players to host their own dedicated servers.

Pocketpair provides official documentation for creating dedicated servers on Windows, Linux, and macOS, meaning communities can continue playing even if the company eventually retires its own hosted infrastructure.

This design gives Palworld a significant advantage over titles that become inaccessible once publisher servers are shut down. As long as players retain their local game files and operate or join community-hosted servers, the core gameplay experience remains available.

Buckley’s comments arrive as Palworld continues enjoying strong momentum following its full 1.0 release. According to SteamDB, the game recently reached a peak of nearly 961,000 concurrent players and has continued recording daily peaks above 800,000, making it one of Steam’s most-played games.

The game’s expanded content, including new regions, additional Pals, progression improvements, and deeper endgame systems, has helped maintain player engagement well beyond launch. Rather than depending on a live-service model, Pocketpair has built Palworld around a structure that allows players to continue enjoying the game regardless of future official server support.