Palworld in China: What China Streaming Tells Us About the Future of the Game

Developed by Japanese indie company PocketPair, Palworld, an open-world survival game, amassed millions of players across Steam and Xbox Game Pass after launch, quickly becoming the biggest third-party launch on Xbox Game Pass and the second-highest game by concurrent player count on Steam in the platform’s history.

Despite its overwhelming global success, the game's future, particularly in Asia, may tell a different story. Insights from Niko's China Games & Streaming Tracker suggest that Palworld's longevity in China could take a different path. This exclusive analysis leverages data from our Tracker to identify trends and compare similar titles, offering a deeper look at the game's potential staying power in this market.

Niko Knowledge Briefs are timely short-form topic reports written by Niko’s senior analysts using Niko’s proprietary data on Asia and MENA. Based on Niko's proprietary data and insights, we write and publish a new Knowledge Brief every two weeks. These short-form reports empower companies to access Niko's high-integrity data, insights, and research in a bite-sized format.