Singapore-based game company Garena officially announced Palworld Online on August 3 — a mobile massively multiplayer online (MMO) game based on Pocketpair's hit title Palworld. Garena is handling development and publishing, while Pocketpair has officially licensed the intellectual property (IP). The global launch is slated for sometime in 2026, though a specific date has not yet been revealed.
According to Garena's official announcement, Palworld Online brings the survival-and-collection fun of the PC original into a mobile environment. Players capture and raise creatures called "Pals" across a seamless open world, meeting other players in real time to trade and survive together. It supports cooperative content, player-versus-player (PvP), and player-versus-environment (PvE) combat, and includes elements for building shared bases among multiple players. The controls have been refined for touch, with an option to play using single-touch input. New story and narrative elements not found in the original are also being added.
Watch the announcement video
The platforms are limited to mobile, including iOS and Android. No plans for a console or PC release have been disclosed. The key art revealed alongside the announcement also includes new Pals whose official names have not yet been finalized, currently referred to by fan-given placeholder names.
Terry Zhao, CEO of Garena, said in the announcement: "Palworld is a widely recognized IP, and we saw an opportunity to bring the core of the PC original to mobile, letting players connect and adventure together." Takuro Mizobe, CEO of Pocketpair, said, "Garena has extensive experience in global publishing, localization, and live operations for mobile games," adding, "We're delighted to work with Garena on the licensed development of Palworld Online."
With this announcement, the number of mobile games based on the Palworld IP has grown to two. As confirmed by GameY, Pocketpair partnered with Krafton in October 2024 to develop a separate Palworld Mobile. The Krafton version is being developed by PUBG Studios, the studio behind PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG). With the addition of Garena's Palworld Online, the situation now sees two different mobile games based on the same original title being prepared side by side. Pocketpair also confirmed that Palworld Online is a separate project from the Krafton version.
The bad blood between the two companies goes back a long way. Garena's Free Fire (2017) and Krafton's IP-based PUBG Mobile (2018) have been rivals contending for the No. 1 and No. 2 download spots in the global mobile battle royale market for the seven to eight years since their launches. The competition even spilled into the courtroom. As confirmed by GameY, in January 2022 Krafton sued Garena in a U.S. court, alleging that Free Fire plagiarized PUBG, and also named Apple and Google, which distributed the game, in the suit.
The two-way rivalry between the games runs especially deep in India. As confirmed by GameY through market research tallies, in December 2019 the top Indian mobile game revenue ranking had Krafton's IP title PUBG Mobile at No. 1 and Free Fire at No. 2. Nearly seven years later, in August 2026, the rankings have simply swapped, with Free Fire Max at No. 1 and Krafton's PUBG Mobile India (BGMI) at No. 2. In the intervening years, both games went through ups and downs as their service was suspended and then resumed in India, but the top two revenue spots have effectively long been shared between the two titles. Now, with both companies bringing their own games to Palworld Mobile, the longtime rivals find themselves facing off once again — this time over the same original title.
Palworld recorded explosive success on Steam immediately after its early access launch in early 2024, and has continued to expand the IP even amid an ongoing patent dispute with Nintendo. Palworld Online plans to reveal information about new Pals and content in stages up until its official release.
Source: [Two "Palworld Mobile" Games at Once...8-Year Rivals "The Bad Blood Continues"]
https://www.gamey.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=3018072
— GameY (게임와이), published August 4, 2026, by reporter Lee Jae-deok.
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