Palworld Devs Reportedly Pays Almost $500K a Month to Keep Servers Running

Author

Moin Khot

Date

Feb, 03.2024

Palworld, a recently released game, has seized the attention of millions globally, defying the norms of its pre-release status. Behind its triumphant success lies a noteworthy revelation from Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe, shedding light on the substantial financial investment required to maintain seamless gaming experiences.

Mizobe, in recent candid discussions on Palworld's development, disclosed a staggering monthly expenditure of over 70 million yen, approximately $478,000, dedicated to server maintenance. This significant financial commitment underscores the paramount importance of uninterrupted gameplay for Pocketpair.

The server costs for Palworld surged by a remarkable 359 percent in the past month, a surge attributed to the game amassing 19 million players within two weeks of its debut on Steam and Xbox platforms on January 19. Steam alone boasts an average of 1.1 million daily active users, with Xbox nearly doubling that number, approaching three million players, as reported by Microsoft.

Pocketpair, cognizant of the game's escalating success, has prioritized server stability through multiple weekly updates. Since Palworld's launch, an internal directive has been in force, emphasizing the absolute necessity to "never let the servers go down." Notably, it has been revealed that the dedicated network and infrastructure work for the entire company was initially managed by a lone engineer, Chujo Hiroto.

Hiroto affirmed the commitment to sustaining uninterrupted services, corroborating Mizobe's statements. He asserted that, following the directive to never allow the service to go down under any circumstances, servers had been prepared without regard to cost.

While these exorbitant server costs are expected to taper as Palworld's player count stabilizes, the development team remains steadfast in addressing critical bugs and issues. Simultaneously, efforts are underway to explore more cost-effective solutions and craft a comprehensive content roadmap for future updates.