Image credit: Pocketpair

July may be a quiet month when it comes to new game releases, but one of the biggest games of 2024 is graduating out of Early Access during the month. Palworld, the survival and creature-collecting hybrid whose characters look similar to Pokemon - but are legally distinct, will roll out its 1.0 update this Friday, 10th July.

We've known the 10th July date for a month now, but something developer Pocketpair had yet to clarify has been the actual release time. This changed today, however, as we now have (almost) exact release times.

The official Palworld X account announced today the update is planned for release at 12:30pm on Friday in Japan, where the studio is based. This is not an exact time, however, but it should be around then.

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Here's what that translates to in other time zones:

• 8:30pm PT (9th July).
• 11:30pm ET (9th July).
• 4:30am BST.
• 5:30am CEST.
• 1:30pm AEST.

Of course, one of the biggest questions on players' minds as we approach this major release has been: will the game wipe everyone's save files so that all players start fresh? The answer is: you don't have to, but Pocketpair would really like you to start over.

The developer actually clarified this in the days following the 1.0 release date reveal. "Players can continue their existing saves if they wish, as we want to respect the time and effort you have put in," Pocketpair confirmed at the time.

"However, due to the large number of changes to the game, including overhauls to mechanics and new content, we believe that starting a new character will give you the best experience of Palworld!"

Image credit: Pocketpair

Indeed, there is quite a bit Palworld is getting with the 1.0 patch. Some examples include overhauled raid mechanics, new shapes and items for base building, an entirely revamped story, new locations to explore, Wildlife Sanctuary overhaul to alow each to have its own ecosystem, reworked Tower Bosses and more besides.

At launch, Palworld - which players referred to as 'Pokemon with guns' at launch - was accused of allegedly basing its own characters on those of Pokemon. The resemblance was strong enough that Nintendo sued Pocketpair for infringing on its patents, which forced the developer to remove its Pokeball-like summoning mechanic in a later patch.

The legal battle continues, with seemingly no end in sight, though it appears Pocketpair's arguments have held much more strongly in court compared to Nintendo's.

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