Palworld More Than Just Pals dating sim might be real
Palworld developer Pocketpair has released a follow-up trailer to last year's April Fool's joke, Palworld More Than Just Friends, a dating sim spin-off.
We are currently on the eve of April Fool’s Day, an unofficial holiday where the internet will be flooded with jokes and pranks. You may last year, Pocketpair, the creators of Palworld, joked about creating a dating simulator version of Palworld where players could date their pals. Well, the joke has come all the way back around into potential reality this year, as Pocketpair has created a Steam page for Palworld ~More Than Just Pals~.
April Fool’s joke or genuine spin-off? Palworld developers release dating sim trailer
In an announcement specifically shared on March 31st, 2025, the official Palworld social media shared a nearly two-minute-long trailer for the game. The trailer showcased several characters the player will be able to interact with including four pals and one human woman. This announcement really toes the line between April Fool’s joke and reality. Visual novels like this are certainly not easy to make, but a convincing short trailer for one is a lot easier than making an entire game. that they also made a similar length trailer last year. Despite all the evidence, there’s always a chance the Palworld developers are still pulling our collective legs.
This might seem like a harmless joke, and yes, it is but wait until you read the Steam description for Palworld ~More Than Just Pals~: “What lies inside the mysterious World Tree? An exciting school life filled with cute Pals! Will you remain friends or fall in love? Or dismantle and eat them… Your dream school romance starts here in this Palworld dating sim!” I promise there was no editorializing in that direct quote. Just like in the actual Palworld where players can cook and eat their captured companions, it appears you can do the same thing in this new dating sim.
Not only does this description mention eating the game’s characters, but it also takes a dig at one of Palworld’s ongoing mysteries during its Early Access period, the World Tree. The massive tree is visible in the game but remains inaccessible. Players have come up with various theories about what significance that tree will have, but apparently, they don’t have to theorize any longer. Turns out it’s a school where humans and Pals take classes together and maybe fall in love? Considering this is the “Pokémon with guns” game, is that concept really so farfetched? That’s what makes this potential joke so genius: just how real it could be. I still can’t decide one way or the other.
Palworld developer Pocketpair continues to be engaged in a lawsuit with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company over alleged patent infringement. The developers recently spoke about how it “was a very sad day” when they learned about the lawsuit. It’s great to see that this lawsuit has not impacted them so much that they have lost the sense of humor that brought them so much success in the first place.
